That Poor Kid
by kuristina
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was slightly well known in his high school, just being an average student among his peers and nothing more. And then he became greatly well known in his school when Uchiha Sasuke comes into his life and he becomes his senpai's desire. (Prequel to That Poor Sucker and That Poor Guy)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Welcome to _That Poor Kid_, my last installment of my _Poor_ series. If you're a new reader, my first story of the _Poor_ series was _That Poor Sucker_, feel free to read it. And the sequel to PS is _That Poor Guy_, which contains mpreg so if you are not into that then you don't have to read it.

I finally was able to begin the prequel because I was waiting for PS to reach both 1k+ favorites & reviews. So once I saw that goal reached, I finally confirmed that I would write the prequel.

So enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke, a sixteen year old in his second year of high school, could remember hearing his voice. He was screaming and cheering at the competition, getting everyone around him as pumped up as he was. It was both endearing and cute. He leaned over the rails and waved one of his hands so hard that he almost dropped the banner at the part he was supposed to holding. But the loud blonde, blue-eyed idiot caught it just in time and continued to cheer.

He just wished he was cheering him on instead of…

"Yeah come on Sai! You swim that butterfly stroke or whatever that is, I don't know!" Naruto cheered, "But you keep on swimming and show those other guys that they're your bitches!"

"Uzumaki, don't use that type of language here!"

The blonde turned his head back and apologized. "Sorry sensei, I'll behave." He turned his head back and started cheering again.

"Hehe Naruto-kun you sure get fired up at these things!"

"I'm just here to cheer for Sai!"

Sasuke looked over at the boy, Sai, and clenched his fist.

Yeah, he was jealous and he could admit that. He wanted Uzumaki to cheer for him.

Even though he hadn't formally introduced himself yet.

But even so, he was at a competition representing their school and they went to the same school together. So i.e. he should be cheering for him as well.

Sai had come in first in the breaststroke part of the competition (he thought it was cute that Uzumaki called it butterfly by accident). The boy he looked quite similar to him was patted on the back and sent back up with the others that had already gone.

"Wow Sai, you were _so_ fast!" Naruto complimented his friend as he came to his side. "You heard me cheering right?"

Sai nodded his head and put his goggles in the pocket of his jacket. "I heard you _screaming_ for me, yes. If you let me then I could make you scream for me again when this is all over."

God, Sasuke just wanted to punch that fucker in the face sometimes.

Naruto blushed a little but punched his friend in the shoulder. "You're such a perv!"

"You are such a dickless."

"Am not! You are!"

"I beg to differ. When I wear my jammers, you can clearly see the outline of my-" Sai stopped midsentence to look at Sasuke. He noticed the expression on his face and decided to tease him. He pulled Naruto close with one arm and looked down at his friend. "Well, I could just show you later because I know how embarrassed you get in public about these things."

Sasuke was _so_ ready to punch him.

But Naruto glared and stomped on his foot. "Yeah right, I've _seen_ you naked because you have no decency." He pushed himself away only to accidentally bump himself against Sasuke. He immediately apologized after doing so. "Ah I'm sorry Uchiha-senpai, I didn't meant to bump into you."

The way he was called senpai by the blonde, he just _loved_ it. He looked over at his captain who was beginning to gather up his team for the medley. He was going to be called soon but before he did he wanted to just talk to the blonde first. "It's alright. You're Uzumaki right?"

The blonde nodded and scratched the back of his head lightly. "Uh yeah. You're up next, aren't you Uchiha-senpai?"

He nodded his head and leaned off of the railing. "Make sure to cheer for me Uzumaki."

Naruto gave him an embarrassed smile but told him he would.

"Make sure to cheer loud; I want to hear your voice."

ヽ(･ω･)丿

People gathered around to congratulate him, and he politely thanked them all. But he looked over the crowd around him to see that Naruto and Sai were standing off to the side. The two were just chatting with each other, Naruto occasionally punching Sai playfully in the arm or pushing him. Sasuke excused himself to go talk to the two… well actually just Naruto.

The blonde noticed his presence and gave him a big smile. "Congratulations senpai. You guys won first in the medley."

Sasuke gave him a small smile back. "Well I was happy to hear you cheer for me Uzumaki."

"Oh yes, he was cheering quite loud for you. You should have seen all excited he was." Sai commented. "He kept on going on and on about you Uchiha and how fast you were and how your body was-"

Naruto punched Sai in the gut and hissed at him to be quiet. He looked in Sasuke's direction and looked down at the ground.

"My body, Uzuzmaki?" he chuckled.

"He-He's lying Uchiha-senpai." Naruto said quietly, though the embarrassed expression on his face told him differently.

But Sasuke didn't bother to point it out.

"It's time to get on the bus!" one of the teachers announced.

Naruto pulled Sai by his arm and walked them towards the bus; Sasuke just quietly followed. But his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Sai's hand squeeze Naruto's bottom.

He hated Sai for doing that but at the same time, he was jealous.

He wanted to touch Naruto too.

The blonde just sighed and pushed Sai away. "You just lost your bus buddy you dick."

"Aw, now what's a dick without his dickless?" But Sai walked onto the bus on his own and smiled back at Naruto but said nothing else.

Sasuke came up beside Naruto, seizing this opportunity. "Then I guess I'll have to sit with you Uzumaki."

"Sure senpai, I'd like that."

ヽ(･ω･)丿

There were people talking on the bus, he knew it. And not just about the event they finished, but how he had suddenly decided to make friends with underclassmen Uzumaki Naruto and how unusual it was.

But it didn't matter to Sasuke, he would let them talk for now.

"Do you need me to walk you home Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked. They were back at the campus and from that point on, it was up to the students to get home on their own. Sasuke hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and looked down at his kouhai, hoping he'd say yes.

"That'd be nice Uchiha-senpai." Naruto said with a polite smile.

"And me too senpai, walk me home too."

Sasuke growled when Sai spoke up and was about to tell him to get lost.

But Naruto spoke up first. "Are you going to sleep over today Sai?"

Sasuke was frozen after he heard that.

"Hm. My brother is gone for the next day and I don't feel like cooking for myself. So yes, I guess I will stay the night."

"Okay, but no more of those weird DVD's you brought me. The last movie you brought over to watch gave me nightmares for a fucking week." Sai and Naruto began to walk ahead. But the blonde stopped when he saw that Sasuke wasn't following. "Uchiha-senpai, aren't you coming?"

Sasuke snapped out of it and caught up. But he was still hung up how Naruto let Sai in his house even though he was clearly a pervert. He looked over at Sai who was pulling something out of his bag and handed it to Naruto. It appeared to be a notebook of some sorts. Naruto looked back at him and handed him the book. "Want to check it out senpai? Sai drew it while he on the bus. He's a really good artist!"

And it was true, Sasuke admitted it. He complimented Sai on his works as they walked together. "If you're such a good artist, why are you in the swimming club instead of the art club?"

"He got banned because he wouldn't shut that dirty mouth of his."

"What?"

Sai sneered. "I was not 'banned'. I was told not to return until I cleaned up both my art and my language."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and that's not going to happen. You just had to draw naked bodies."

"People are so afraid and offended by their own anatomy. I was just helping them to get used to the idea of seeing these things out in open. Perhaps it's some sort of complex that makes people afraid to look at penises."

"You are really going to get punched in the mouth one day." Naruto sighed. But the notebook was given back to him and he passed it back to the owner. He looked over at Sasuke and explained that he was the one to actually make Sai join a club. "If he didn't join a club, then he would be holed up in his house the entire time. I told him to join something where he could get fresh air… and a tan because he's practically a ghost."

Sai gave the blonde a fake smile. "Well unfortunate for you the pool is indoors and I wasn't fast enough for the track team. And my complexion is just fine, you should look out more for Sasuke-kun's complexion. He looks like he burns easy."

Sasuke glared at Sai. From senpai to Sasuke-kun in just a few minutes, that guy was getting too comfortable.

And he _did not_ burn easy.

Naruto snorted. "Please, senpai's complexion is just fine. He's fair skinned, porcelain pale. He doesn't need a tan because his complexion is good! You Sai, you look like something from a haunted house."

"You… think I have a good complexion Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked.

The blonde's face glowed red. "It was just an observation senpai! I wasn't checking you out or anything!"

Sai looked between the blonde and the Uchiha for a moment. Then he pulled Naruto to him by the waist and nuzzled his face. "When Naruto-chan was cheering for your medley race, he couldn't stop talking non-stop about how good you looked and-"

Naruto elbowed Sai on the side and screamed at him to shut up. He looked back at Sasuke, his face red and his body shaking a little bit (probably from embarrassment). "I swear I'm not creeper senpai! I was talking about your form and how it looked good, not you! Not that _you_ don't look good senpai seeing as you have so many fans but-"

"Okay easy Uzumaki." Sasuke put up a hand to shush the babbling boy. He pats the top of his head, noticing how soft the blonde felt and couldn't help but let his hand linger there for a moment. But he took it back after realizing that he shouldn't make things too awkward between them. "But thank you though."

"For what?"

"For looking at me, cheering for me today, letting me walk you home." Sasuke gave him a gentle smile.

Naruto gave him a big smile in return. "No problem senpai!"

Sasuke stepped forward and leaned down to whisper in Naruto's ear. "Don't let Sai keeping touching your ass like that."

"Believe me, I'm always trying. But that guy has been a pervert since I first met him. I'm not sure if there's any way to get Sai to stop."

"Well, maybe that would change if your ass belonged to me instead."

"Huh?"

"Good night Uzumaki." Sasuke walked off in the opposite direction of him. He couldn't help but slip that last part in.

Naruto waved goodbye, completely put off guard from what Sasuke had said to him. "I think… Uchiha-senpai might be a pervert…"

"Well I'm not surprised." Sai said. "His eyes would get pretty fixed on your ass sometimes. Though who could blame him." Sai's hand reached out and touched the blonde's backside. "You've been blessed with such a nice feature Naruto-kun. And I think Uchiha might have set his sights on you and your ass now."

Naruto glared at Sai but simply walked away from the hand on his bottom. His house wasn't far now and all he wanted was to eat some ramen and relax… and think about how Uchiha Sasuke actually liked him.

"All the boys love Naruto-kun's ass." Sai sang.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Shut up Sai. Besides, I'm not sure if I even like Uchiha-senpai that much to date him!"

"Any boy that has admitted feelings to you, they've been shot down so gently by you." Sai said as they continued to walk together. "Such a little heart breaker you are."

"I do that with them because it's not fair that I don't like them as much as they like me. It's like on a scale of one to ten, the boy likes me nine or ten but I only like them at a five or six. Dating Uchiha-senpai would probably end up the same way."

"But you admit you like him?"

"…Yeah but I don't think I like him enough to date him. I get the feeling that if we did get together we wouldn't last very long. We would probably last like a month or something. Besides, I have a lot on my plate from dealing with my brother. I don't need to add a boyfriend to the mix… again."

"You never know." Sai shrugged his shoulders. "How is Kyuubi by the way?"

Naruto ran his hands down his face. "I think all the partying and studying he's doing in university is changing him. He doesn't have time to spend with me anymore."

"Are you sure you just don't have some sort of brother complex?" Sai asked. Naruto kicked him in the shin but he remained unaffected by the hit. "That's why you get Uchiha to bang your cute little ass to get Kyuubi to notice you. That'll show him."

"… Everything just always has to be about sex with you, doesn't it?" Naruto sighed and opened the gate to his house. "I doubt that Uchiha Sasuke and I will ever have sex with each other. I just can't see it happening."

* * *

**A/N:** So there's your first chapter. So if you need clarification some, Naruto admits that he likes Sasuke a bit but not enough to actually date him… for now.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Man, I knew you guys really wanted a prequel. But I never realized how thirsty you guys were for it until I opened my email after the first uploaded chapter to see almost a hundred notifications of favorites, follows, and reviews for PK. But I'm glad you guys were excited for it!

**DISCLAIMER:** Naruto does not belong to me

* * *

He couldn't stop thinking about Uzumaki and how much he wanted to know him more. But it was unfortunate for Sasuke that they were in different classes. And from times that he's passed the blonde in the hallway, he was always busy talking to other people.

Sasuke wished that there was some way to know him a bit better.

There were people doing warm up laps in the pool as he stretched his arms and shoulders. He flexed his muscles briefly in one arm before doing the same for the next. His eyes looked around and he saw Sai arrive and walking towards his direction.

"Sai, come here and help me stretch."

Sai stopped in front of him and nodded his head. "Why of course Sasuke-kun. Anything to help my senpai."

Sasuke couldn't tell if the guy was being sarcastic or not but he decided to not think on it. He sat himself on the ground and opened his legs, stretching his arms towards the open space. He felt Sai's hands push down on his back a little to help him stretch. He called Sai to ask him about Naruto but now his mind couldn't process a question to come up with.

"Naruto's a virgin."

His mind stopped to process the information.

"But not to say that he hasn't done a little this and that with others before. But if anything, no one's tapped that delectable ass." Sai retracted his hands and started to do his own stretches. "So feel free to make a go at banging him, I think he could use a dick in him to unwind him a little."

Sasuke glared at back Sai and stood up. "Have you considered that maybe I'm not interested in just having sex with Uzumaki?"

Sai looked up at Sasuke before standing up. "But you admit that it would be a perk if you got together with him."

Sasuke held his gaze steady with Sai, trying to calculate the best response. Sai had on that stupid smile on his face but he could tell that he was being very serious. He felt like he was being tested by him, trying to assess whether or not he was deemed good enough for Uzumaki Naruto. And he could accept that; he wasn't going to view Sai as a roadblock to Naruto. "I'm not seeking sex from him. All I want from Uzumaki for now is to just know him."

There was a silence between the two of them before Sai spoke up. "He said that he likes you too."

That gave Sasuke some hope.

"But he's very unsure of how much he likes you. He feels as if he doesn't 'like you' enough to actually pursue you, so unfortunately he's not very love-stricken with you at the moment." Sai looked up when he was called by their coach. "But it doesn't hurt to spend some time with him on the roof and give him something to drink."

Sai walked away before Sasuke could ask anything else.

Spend time with him on the roof and give him a drink?

Did he mean…?

ヽ(･ω･)丿

Sasuke opened the door to the roof when it was their lunch break. He looked around before seeing Naruto on one of the benches. Other people were here too but none that appeared to be friends with the blonde at the moment surrounded him. The blonde just sat on the bench eating a sandwich. He straightened his shirt before walking up to him.

"Uzumaki, here." Sasuke walked up to Naruto and held out a canned drink from the vending machine.

Naruto looked up at him before looking down at the drink. He swallowed whatever food was in his mouth before taking the drink. "Thanks senpai!" Naruto opened the drink and downed half the can. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled at Sasuke. "I really needed that. Usually Sai would be here to give me something to drink but he didn't show up. I hope he's not in trouble from running that dumb mouth of his."

The blonde scooted and pat the seat next to him.

Sasuke happily took the spot.

"So Sai… he's usually here with you? And gives you something to drink?" Sasuke asked. The guy tipped him off yesterday but he wondered how this would help him.

Naruto nodded before taking another bite of his sandwich. He chewed and swallowed before answering. "Yeah, I _always_ forget to have a drink with me for lunch and Sai usually provides. I wonder where he is…" He tilted his head back to look at the sky for a bit but then shrugged his shoulders. "Eh whatever. I'll see him later and ask. But thanks for getting me a drink senpai! I really needed it."

Sasuke nodded his head. "No problem Uzumaki."

He looked around at some of the people who were also on the rooftop. It looked like some of them were gossiping over the fact that he was present on the roof.

"Senpai, what brings you up here?" Naruto asked.

"… Just thought I would try the view up here." Then he looked Naruto in the eye and smiled at him. "It's nice."

Naruto blinked at him and stuffed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, took a drink, and then pat his belly. "That was a good lunch!" he sighed. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and smiled at the screen.

Sasuke felt his stomach drop.

What if the blonde had gotten a text from some other guy he liked? A guy that Uzumaki liked more than him?

"Sorry, I got a message from my brother. He said that he's coming home for the weekend and I'm really excited!" Naruto explained. He quickly typed a reply and put his phone back in his pocket. "My brother goes to the university nearby so I could technically go see him whenever. But he's always busy so I never get to see him."

"Hn. That's the opposite of me and my brother."

"Huh?"

"He goes to a university about a city away from here but he's always home on the weekends to see us. I thought that point of college was to go away from your family."

Naruto smiled. "I think that's sweet. I would like my brother to come see me more often. I always miss him."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto before looking down at his shoes. "You have some sort of brother complex Uzumaki?"

Naruto huffed and he felt a playful punch to his shoulder. "Jerk! Sai said that to me too!"

"… Can I see more of you Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto was stopped by the question. He was silent for a moment and played with his fingers. "I'm um… busy usually…"

"Are you saying no?"

"Not that! I'm not saying that! But I just… don't you have something better to do with your time?"

"I could use some of that time to be with you."

For a moment Sasuke thought he saw Naruto roll his eyes. Had he heard that line before?

But Naruto shrugged his shoulders and stood up. "Um… we'll see I guess. Thanks for the drink senpai."

"No problem Uzumaki."

* * *

Naruto sighed sadly as he flipped through random books inside the book store. He searched through some titles he thought looked interesting but then ended up putting them back.

Sai was busy with his brother.

And Kyuubi said that he would be home for the weekend but he hadn't come yet.

He moved down a section and just randomly pulled a book out. His eyes looked at the title but his mind didn't comprehend it until…

"Necessities for safe sex. Nice book dobe."

Naruto jumped up and he clutched the book to his chest. He looked down at the book and the section he was at and his face turned red. He hadn't realized that he moved down to the 'adult and sexuality' aisle of the book store. He pushed the book back in the place he got it. "It's um… not what you think senpai." Then he registered the name he was called. "Hey! You called me a dobe!"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know what you're talking about Uzumaki."

Dark eyes observed the blonde for a moment, briefly checking him out before moving down another section in the bookstore.

"I'm serious senpai! I wasn't trying to look up anything gross to get myself laid or something!" Naruto insisted, following him around a little bit. He didn't _have to_ explain himself to Uchiha but he didn't want to give him the wrong impression. But then he remembered Sasuke's own words to him the day he walked him home. The way he leaned in to whisper and hinted to him that he wanted him. "Senpai… are you a pervert?"

Sasuke looked up from the book he pulled from the shelf and glanced over at the blonde, not bothering to hide the fact that he was checking him out. But he was silent.

"Because you said something about my ass belonging to you that day you walked me and Sai home. And that's really weird and upfront to say to your kouhai."

Sasuke put the book back on the shelf and stood in front of the blonde. "Perhaps one day you'll bend over for me one day Uzumaki, I'd like that. You do have the ass for it."

Naruto glared and pouted. First he thought Uchiha was kind of a nice guy. So now he knew that his senpai was a pervert; now he had to try and find the best ways to avoid him.

"But, I just want to know you for now Uzumaki. What your favorite color is, if you like to stay up late, and if you like me just as much as I like you." Sasuke took Naruto's hand in his and looked into his eyes. "Do you like me Uzumaki?"

And then Naruto's plans to avoid Sasuke had suddenly gone out the door when he felt how warm his senpai's hand was. And the look in his senpai's eyes, he couldn't doubt from that point that the Uchiha had genuine feelings for him. Could he eventually come to like Sasuke and see him as a friend?

Yes, he could see that.

But romantically?

He couldn't picture it.

"… As a friend." Naruto half answered.

Sasuke remained unfazed from the words. He knew that he could turn the dobe's feelings around. "I like you as more than a friend Uzumaki. But if friendship is what you want from me, then I'll give it to you. Just know that I'll be trying to make you mine the entire time. We'll be together before you know it."

"You're going to just lure me in using friendship? That seems kind of low and scummy."

"I'm not trying to 'lure you in'. I've made my feelings clear; I want you as more than just a friend. I won't be that 'friend' that will be there by your side only to ask you to be mine simply because of my company and I did a few nice things for you. I'm not using the 'nice guy' arsenal in order to be with you. And I don't want you to feel obligated to be with me. I offer my friendship to you Uzumaki, and down the road I hope that you'll come to like me as more than a friend."

What could he say after a small speech like that?

Sasuke would go through the trouble of being his friend, hoping that down the way at some point he would fall for him?

It sounded something from some anime that Naruto would watch.

But… he couldn't find himself to reject his senpai.

Naruto snorted. "Teme…" he muttered. "Fine, you can be my friend. But I won't fall so easily for you senpai! I won't be so easily seduced by you!"

"Hn." Sasuke smirked but leaned in to kiss Naruto's cheek. And let his hand squeeze the boy's bottom.

"Hey, you ass!" Naruto's face turned red in surprise.

Uchiha-senpai was definitely a pervert.

"No Uzumaki, _your_ ass." Sasuke pulled away. "Sai's your friend and if he gets the privilege of touching your ass, then so do I. It's only fair seeing as I'm also your friend now."

"That's not how it works!" Naruto stomped his foot and followed after Sasuke. "Senpai!"

They both walked out of the store, Naruto trailing behind Sasuke. And he would have followed if his phone hadn't rung. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the message he received. Then he stuck it back in his pocket and glared at Sasuke. "You're lucky my brother is home now senpai or I would have followed you around all day!"

"Is that supposed to annoy me Uzumaki? That only gives me more opportunities."

"For you to grope me like the pervert I didn't know you were until now!"

"You'll get used to the feel of my hand. Just like you'll get used to the rest of me and how I am."

Naruto huffed and stormed off in the opposite direction of his senpai. Kyuubi was home and he just wanted to spend time with his brother.

But still… him and Uchiha Sasuke?

He wanted to know how his senpai could just go for someone like him. And even though he had his own little crush on his senpai, he didn't feel like he should act on those small feelings. They would go away eventually and he had more important matters to think about like family and school.

Naruto didn't want to dwell on it.

He rushed home to see his older brother sitting at the kitchen table with their parents. He tackled his brother with a hug. "Kyuubi!"

His older brother wrapped his arms around him and he laughed when his hair was ruffled by him. So he just squeezed his brother in the hug harder. For now, he just wanted to spend time with him.

* * *

**A/N:** Kyuubi coming into the story will continue next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** Naruto is not mine

* * *

Naruto practically clung to Kyuubi, asking him how he was, how his studies were going, and if he would be staying overnight. He hoped that his brother would stay overnight and tell him all sorts of stories about college and was it was like. Well, he just wanted Kyuubi to stay regardless and spend some time at home. His brother was always busy at the college.

And he had his own stories to tell also.

Like making Sai join clubs and how he tried out for the art club. But instead he switched to swimming because his art and his mouth were too dirty for the art club. And how he was actually enjoying math for once in his life because of his teacher and that he did really well in home economics. And he also wanted to talk to his brother about this drama he had been watching recently on television.

"So Kyuubi, how are your classes going?" Minato asked his oldest son. "I hope you're studying hard and enjoying yourself."

"Of course dad! I'm studying my ass off since going to school at my age isn't free anymore!" Kyuubi answered with a laugh. Then he ruffled his little brother's hair and gave him a big grin. "You hear that Naru? College life isn't cheap so make the most out of high school!"

Naruto basked in his brother's touch and smiled back up at him. "Kyuubi, are you staying overnight?" he asked with hopeful eyes.

But Kyuubi gave him a sad smile instead and withdrew his hand from his head. "Sorry Naruto, I'll be driving back when it gets dark. Got a midterm on Monday."

Kushina sighed when she saw her youngest baby drop his eyes down to the floor. Kyuubi and Naruto were so close. But with Kyuubi away at college and starting to become independent, Naruto was left without his big brother. "Why don't you two stay here while your father and I go out grocery shopping?" she suggested.

"But Kushina didn't you just-" Minato was pulled up by his hair and pulled away by his wife. "I-I guess we're going now? Make sure throw away any garbage if you decide to have snacks!"

The front door slammed and the brothers were left by themselves for a brief moment.

Kushina came back inside the house and then left the house again.

And this time they heard their parents' car drive away.

Then Kyuubi turned to Naruto and asked, "So you've got a boyfriend huh?"

"Kyuubi!"

"What? I ran into Sai when I got here and he said that there's some guy that wants you. You guys hooked up already?" Kyuubi looked intently at his younger brother. He remembered that Naruto had tried to bring home a boy last year, but apparently things didn't work out between them so nothing really happened. "Is he nice?"

Naruto pouted and lightly kicked his brother; he made a mental note to slap Sai later.

"Yeah I guess. I ran into him today while I was in town and we talked a little. He's uh…"

Kyuubi waited for him to finish.

"… My friend now."

He blinked and waited for more but his brother didn't say anything else.

"… He's you friend now? I thought this guy wanted to bang you!"

"I'm gonna kill Sai." Naruto muttered. "Look, I don't know about the banging part but yeah, he does kind of want me. But he said that he wanted to be my friend for now."

Kyuubi leaned back and made a face but didn't say anything for now. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out of his pocket to check the message. He smiled at the message, typed a reply, and then put it back in his pocket.

Naruto didn't miss the smile on his brother's face and asked who he was texting. "What was that? Were you texting a girlfriend or something?"

"Nah, it was one of my buddies telling me about the kickass party in the dorms tonight and asking if I'm going to come." Kyuubi explained.

"Wait, you said that you had a midterm Monday!"

"And it's Saturday. Party at night, nurse my hangover Sunday morning, and then hit the books for the rest of the time until it's the midterm."

Hearing the real reason why Kyuubi wasn't staying the night, Naruto did feel a jab of disappointment. His brother wanted to go to a party at his college instead of stay at home to visit the family. But he tried to make himself understand why. Kyuubi already spent eighteen years living with them and he's already out of the house on his own. As long as his brother could keep up with his grades and spend some time partying, then he supposed nothing was wrong.

Still, it wasn't often that Kyuubi came home to visit even though he wasn't that far. He was only a forty-five minute drive away but still, he guessed that the whole point of moving away was to not see your family that often and be independent from them…

Naruto didn't know; he knew he was only trying to justify his brother's reasons for not staying the night with them. But he wouldn't let it get to him so he decided to just ask his brother what a college party is like.

And Kyuubi's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh man Naru! Attending college parties is the one of the most fun things I had ever done in my life! It's like one of the major things that all the students do to wind down from studies. Yeah we got an exam in the next two days and it's worth thirty five percent of our grade, so we better party first to get it out of our system and then study afterwards." Kyuubi glanced over to his brother and lightly nudged him. "You should attend one with me sometime."

The thought of going to a college party… well, it interested Naruto but also kind of scared him.

"Would that be okay?"

"Yeah sure! But you also gotta be careful Naruto. There are the kids who party to let it out of their system and then there are the kids that are just messed up. Everyone who attends those parties knows when to kick them out and not walk with them."

Naruto thought about it and to him, if it meant spending some time with his brother then he could go to a party with older kids.

"Just say the word and I'll take you to one sometime."

"Sure Kyuubi."

Later when it was nighttime, Naruto and his parents waved as Kyuubi got in his car to go back to his college. And while the parents thought that their oldest son was just going back to his dorm to study, Naruto knew that he was off to party and let loose before studying.

He sighed at the thought of when he would see his brother next time.

ヽ(･ω･)丿

Mikoto clapped her hands and jumped a little in the place where she was standing. She hugged her oldest son and squeezed him has hard as she could. "Oh Itachi! How you manage to drive one and a half hours from your college every other weekend just to see us is amazing!"

Itachi hugged his mother back, smoothing down the back of her hair briefly. "Oh mother, it's not a big deal for me. I just want to be able to see you every chance I get."

At the base of the stairs, Sasuke just sneered and rolled his eyes. He seriously thought the point of college was to go away but his brother was here almost every other weekend. "Go away Itachi."

"Oh Sasuke, you're always joking with your brother. It's so cute." Mikoto pinched her youngest son's cheek before going to her husband's side. "Come on, I've made dinner! I want to hear how you're doing in school Itachi!"

"I've missed your cooking mother. And don't worry, I've got stories to share."

Fugaku chuckled at how excited his wife was and followed right after her.

Itachi walked beside his brother and lightly nudged him. "It's okay Sasuke, they're gone now so you can give me that hug now."

"Piss off Itachi. The only thing I want to give you is the keys to your car so that you can go back to your dorm."

"Don't be afraid now Sasuke." Itachi pushed himself into his brother's space. "It's only me, and mother and father are in the dining room. Don't be afraid of a little affection. Come here into your brother's arms." He pulled Sasuke to him and squeezed his brother in his arms, nuzzling the top of his head a little. He loved his baby brother a lot.

Sasuke, however, struggled and kicked at the air. His arms were trapped and he was trying to wiggle out of his brother's hug. "Gah! Get the fuck off me Itachi!"

But the elder brother only squeezed harder before finally releasing his brother. He poked his brother's forehead and walked off when he was glared at.

And after the dinner Itachi stood in his brother's room and looked over his shoulder as Sasuke did homework. "You have to-"

"I know what I'm doing Itachi!" Sasuke growled. "Why aren't you in your own room? I'm busy doing homework and I would like to be able to do it without an audience."

Itachi pulled up another chair in the room and sat beside Sasuke's desk. "I'm just doing what I used to do when we were kids. When you would come up to me and ask for my help if you didn't understand something. I'm right here for you Sasuke, your onii-san is here to help."

However the younger of the two sighed and he just put his pencil down.

"So how is the swim team at your school?"

"Fine. We just went to a tournament recently and we won first."

"Very good. Are you getting along with your teammates?"

"Yes I am."

Then it was silent between the two; Itachi was comfortable with it but Sasuke waited for him to leave.

Then Sasuke was poked on the forehead again.

"Get out Itachi."

* * *

Naruto was quickly walking towards the pool building with Sai's goggles in his hand. His backpack bounced rhythmically as he walked into the building. Chlorine was in the air when the blonde walked in and he could hear the splashing of water. Some of the swimmer's had already begun laps; a few were stretching or were talking to their teammates.

Standing on his toes to get a good look, Naruto tried keeping an eye out for Sai.

He had accidentally left them on his desk when their final bell rang for the day.

"Where is he?" Naruto muttered to himself. "Sai where are you?"

"Excuse me, what are you doing here? Are you here for the team?" someone had asked. "You're uh… Uzumaki Naruto right?"

Naruto looked to his left to see one of his classmates had walked up to him. "Uh yeah. I sit a few desks behind you. I'm here because-"

"Uzumaki?"

Once again, someone had approached him but on his opposite side. But he already knew who it was without having to look back. So Naruto turned around and greeted Sasuke. "Hi senpai."

"Do you need something?" Sasuke asked as he rolled his left shoulder, making sure to warm it up and then switching to the other one. "Are you here for me? Come to claim that you want me?"

Naruto's mouth gaped open and he turned around, looking back at his classmate who had a similar expression on his face. His face was red as he looked between the both of them and quickly walked away without bothering to look back at both boys, bumping into the other teammates on the way.

Blue eyes glared at the Uchiha but he kept his voice controlled because he didn't want to bring attention towards them. Still, he knew that there were plenty of eyes on them now. "Bastard! What do you think you're doing saying that with other people around? They could get the wrong idea!"

However Sasuke stopped warming up his shoulders to shrug and looked down at the blonde. He noticed that he was holding goggles in his hand and he figured that he had come to give them to Sai. "If those goggles are Sai's, he's already borrowing a pair from someone else right now. He's doing his laps right now." He explained. Then he held out his hand offered to take the goggles to Sai that way he could return the ones he was borrowing to their other teammate.

But Naruto shook his head and said that he would just give them back if Sai swing by his house later. So he waved goodbye to Sasuke and turned around.

"Wait Uzumaki, you know you can stick around and watch."

Naruto looked back and seemed to think it over in his mind. "No thanks senpai, I've got homework to do."

"You don't want to come watch your senpai and cheer him on?" Sasuke teased, stepping closer to his kouhai. "I liked the support you gave me on the tournament day. I could use that during practice."

"Hehe… you're so funny senpai…" Naruto said uncomfortably. His eyes darted around at the people that were starting to take notice of them. So he quickly said goodbye , did and about face, and walked out with his eyes to the ground. He just wanted to resume his day normally and then repeat again the next day.

But apparently news traveled very fast if it involved Uchiha Sasuke and it threw off the normality of his school life. He would walk into school and attend his classes, chat with a few classmates when he had the time, and participate in some school activities and go home. No one would give a second look to him as he would go on his merry way.

The very next day, Naruto could feel eyes on him everywhere he went. It left him quite unsettled as he went through his day. And he was one hundred percent sure but he thought that people were whispering as he walked by as well.

Sitting next to Sai on the roof during lunch, he was handed his drink but quickly asked, "What the hell is going? Everyone is looking at me!"

"They are?" Sai asked, clearly being sarcastic. "I had _no_ idea."

"Stop being a dick! I'm serious, why's everyone so interested in me all of a sudden?" Naruto looked at his surroundings. Whenever he would lock eyes with someone they would look away quickly. "What the hell?"

At that moment, the same boy from yesterday who had first approached Naruto at the pool stood in front of him. "… Uzumaki-san?"

Naruto looked up at him. "Yes?"

"I uh… wanted to tell you that I had a confession towards you."

The blonde tensed but nodded his head to let his classmate continue.

"Yes well, truthfully I planned to ask you out on a date within the next month or so. But after seeing you and Uchiha-senpai together and that you wanted him instead I-"

Naruto stood up and screamed, "_What?_"

The boy jumped back slightly and continued. "Yes, after that yesterday there had been talk about how you and Uchiha-senpai have been seeing each for a while now-"

"_What?_"

"That ever since you laid eyes on him since the medley from the tournament you've been chasing after him-"

"What!"

"And you went to the practice yesterday to see him half-naked."

"That bastard!" Naruto pointed at Sai and glared at his classmate. He wasn't enraged at him in particular; just the rumors that he heard. "I went yesterday to give Sai his stupid goggles because he left them on his stupid desk. And I happened to run into that stupid Uchiha Sasuke and he was just saying _stupid_ stuff!"

And speaking of the devil, Sasuke had appeared on the rooftop.

Everyone's gaze shifted to him.

"Senpai, you bastard! Are you spreading these rumors around?" Naruto yelled from his spot. Blue eyes glared at his senpai as he calmly walked to where he was. "Fucking answer me right now! I swear I will-"

"Calm down Uzumaki. Everyone can hear you from about ten miles away."

Naruto clenched his fist and grabbed Sasuke by the front of his shirt. "You spread those rumors about me chasing after you and how I went to go see you because you were half naked! You make me sound crazy and like a stalker!"

"Easy Uzumaki, I didn't spread anything."

"Don't bullshit me!"

"I'll fix this." Sasuke calmly pulled off his kouhai's hand and turned around to address the crowd on the roof. "The rumors aren't true, none of them are. It's just some silly folly you all imagined. I was only teasing Uzumaki yesterday when he came into the swim club to return some gear to his friend."

Sai waved at the crowd, letting them know he was the friend.

"Uzumaki Naruto is _not_ chasing after me."

The students among them began to whisper among themselves.

"I'm the one who's chasing him."

Everyone who had heard the declaration was speechless.

Naruto didn't even flinch when his senpai leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I want them all to know that you're going to belong to me."

And he had started to walk off with a satisfied expression on his face. Sasuke wanted to shake off any future suitors the blonde may have in the near future. He had heard about his kouhai already getting confessions every other month since he was in middle school. But if he was going to journey down the road, he had to establish his intentions with Naruto to their peers before rumors started. After all, he was going to be seen more often with Naruto around the school if he was trying to win his heart and any false information could ruin them.

This also reminded him…

Sasuke turned back to add in one last note. "But we're just friends for now."

The roof was still silent.

"… Hooray. It's like that one drama-like anime you made me watch one time. Isn't that great Naruto? Now it looks like your life may become one." Sai commented before he sipped at his drink.

The blonde didn't budge when a kiss was placed on his forehead and didn't bother to stop his senpai or call him out when he finally walked away after adding in that they were 'friends'. He was frozen, stuck in a limbo inside his mind that would not be broken until the lunch bell rang.

* * *

**A/N:** Uh… hooray for Sasuke's declaration?


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER:** Naruto isn't mine, I am sure

* * *

When it came to Uzumaki Naruto, the people who knew him were used to certain things about him.

They had come to accept that he was indeed a natural blonde and nothing was colored or highlighted and that his shoes size was slightly smaller than an average boy his height. His love of orange, his favorite use of his Gama-chan pencil with the little iconic frog on top that could be popped off to put in lead, how he liked to knock in a syncopated rhythm, and his friendship with the strange boy Sai.

Students around the school were used to seeing the two boys together.

Often Sai could be seen playfully groping Naruto, flirting and teasing, and calling him a dickless.

Sai and Naruto were a duo.

But now it wasn't just a few classmates that knew about Uzumaki Naruto; now it was the entire high school.

Ever since that day on the rooftop when Uchiha Sasuke had announced to the school about his chase for his kouhai, people had not stopped talking or staring. They would ask questions amongst themselves about when this crush had developed, how long had it been going on, and if the two boys would actually go out in the future.

Naruto tried to ignore the talking all around him. He had hoped that the school would get over the news but it had been a week and the hyped still hadn't died down. So he had been walking with his eyes on the ground for a while, occasionally walking into something or someone.

The back of his shirt was pulled back and he yelped.

"Watch where you're going Uzumaki."

Sasuke had pulled Naruto away just in time before he walked into an open door. He glared at Sai who just stared back at him. "You're his friend, aren't you supposed to be watching out for him in situations like this?"

"I can't be held responsible if Naruto doesn't use those pretty eyes to watch where he is going. Besides…" Sai trailed off briefly. "I'm on ass duty. So I'm watching you Sasuke-kun." He reached his arm out to pat his friend's rear end.

Naruto looked at the two dark haired males and pouted at them. "What are you going on about Sai?" he asked as he continued to walk. He led them both to the fields of their school to watch some of the other sports teams practice.

"I'm making sure your beloved behind is protected Naruto. Sasuke-kun might get too hormonal and suddenly pull you into a closet to-"

"Ugh! Shut up Sai!" Naruto groaned. But the blonde did remember that his senpai was a bit of a pervert ever since meeting him inside that bookstore. Still, since that day Sasuke had not done one similar action like that to him so he wondered if it was just some sort of joke. "Senpai… I thought you were a pervert. It's just that, you hadn't touched me since that day at the bookstore so I'm starting to think that maybe you were just joking."

Sasuke looked at his kouhai silently and quickly pulled him flush against his body. His hand coming to rest on Naruto's rear end and give it a squeeze. "Is this what you wanted Uzumaki? All you had to do was ask and I'd be happy to do so."

"I was here first Sasuke-kun."

"Well Naruto is going to belong to me very soon Sai."

Naruto pulled away and just rolled his eyes.

How had his life come to be surrounded by two people that had strange boundary issues?

First his senpai seemed like a nice guy, then he turned out to be somewhat of a pervert, back to a nice guy, and then so on and so forth. He felt like he was being yanked back and forth when it came to Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto could agree with all of his classmates; yes Uchiha Sasuke was very good looking.

But right now his feelings were just that shallow; he saw his senpai as a good looking fellow. And he wasn't going to pursue anything with Sasuke because he had other things to do. He would let him hang around him but he saw it as a fruitless effort of his senpai.

He wondered why he was trying so hard to get him.

"Uchiha-senpai, why do you want me so badly?"

Both Sai and Sasuke stopped their bickering to look at the blonde. Needless to say, they were both equally stunned by the bold question.

"I mean, what do you want from me? What do you see in me?"

Sasuke cleared his throat to answer. "Maybe I like the thought of me standing by your side Uzumaki. It may sound strange, but I can see myself with you. Is it so wrong to think that I have a chance with you?"

"But what if I don't like you?"

Sai gave Sasuke a hardened gaze and waited carefully for his answer.

"If you don't like me, why didn't you reject me right away? You had the rightful opportunity to do so that day in the bookstore and even more so on that day on the roof."

Naruto tensed and cast his eyes sideways, briefly glancing at Sai. He wasn't prepared for such a loaded question from Sasuke and he had no idea what to follow with. Now he felt like he was caught in a corner. "It's just a small crush I have on you Uchiha-senpai. Maybe that's what's keeping you here right now but it won't be enough for you to remain here with me."

"Then what will let me stay Uzumaki? I've offered my friendship but you've yet to act on even that. I've told you that's what I wanted from you for now, no pressure of a romantic relationship should scare you right now."

"But I know what you really want! You _want_ me and I don't understand how you could go through being my friend when all I can think about is the real way you want me!"

"… Naruto, spend time with Sasuke." Sai said.

Sasuke was surprised by Sai and his words.

ヽ(･ω･)丿

"You really think I should spend time with him?" Naruto asked as he laid a futon on the floor in his bedroom. He fluffed the spare pillow and then crawled towards his television to turn it on. "That's unusual of you to suggest. Usually you say that I should just fuck him or something."

Sai grabbed a controller for their game console and waited for the game to start. "Well, I don't want to hear you ramble on about how ambiguous your feelings are for Sasuke-kun. And he was clearly right earlier; you could have rejected him but you let him stay. Perhaps spending time with him will enlighten how you feel about him."

Hearing how serious his friend was, Naruto was slightly unnerved.

But he couldn't deny that Sai was right.

And when he thought about it, maybe Sasuke was replying on the small attraction he had on him as a small hope. Perhaps he saw it as a little window of opportunity for something bigger between the two of them. And it would be up to Naruto if that window would open wider or if it would be shut and locked.

Could the small attraction he has follow up to something stronger?

"Ugh, I feel like I'm in some television drama right now. But I hate it when you're fucking right Sai." Naruto pressed the start button on his controller to start the game. "But… Is he really worth the time?"

"I guess you won't know until you talk to him."

Yeah, Sai was completely scaring him now.

"What do you think of Uchiha-senpai?" Naruto asked. "He thinks that he could see us together and I can only see us as being friends. And let's say that we did get together, I don't see us lasting a long time. What do you think Sai?"

He could trust Sai's words; his friend had always had good intentions for him.

Sai was silent for a moment and he pressed the start button on his controller. "I wonder if he's into BDSM. He looks he might be the type."

Naruto groaned and threw his head back.

ヽ(･ω･)丿

"Do I have a chance with you Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked as he walked beside his kouhai.

Currently the two were walking down the path of the park, a simple setting in the first step of spending time together. They needed a simple setting with not a lot of social influence around to deter them from the main objective of today.

Naruto was getting pretty sick of those loaded questions but it was the consequence of agreeing to… whatever he was in.

"I… don't know."

"Sai said you liked me but you're not entirely sure how much." Sasuke explained. "And you made that pretty clear the other day that you're still not entirely sure what you may see in me."

"Yeah, that's true. It's not the same as you senpai; I just see you as someone pleasant to look at when you pass by or if I talk to you. I never imagined that we actually have the potential for a relationship. And what almost scares me is that you are so sure of yourself that we may end up together. I don't feel the same way senpai; for me it's just a small crus-"

Sasuke stopped walking and grabbed Naruto's arm. "Uzumaki, what I'm doing right now is entirely reliant on you. You're not rejecting me but you're also not accepting me and I honestly don't want to teeter on that edge. You let me be your friend and that is my first step to getting closer to you. I just want to know the simple facts about you and I hope that you're just as curious about me as I am about you. But I also don't want to be strung along. Do you think you can open yourself up to me and allow me to know you?"

This was too much pressure on the blonde, he didn't like this confrontation.

"I guess I'm willing to give it a chance." Naruto said slowly. "I've watched those love story movies about two people starting off as friends and then all that gross gooey stuff happening. I hope we won't turn out to be so cliché but I guess I won't shut you out senpai seeing as our feelings are sort of mutual."

Still, he couldn't see himself romantically with Sasuke. Something just wasn't clicking in his mind. But seeing Sasuke completely serious about the situation, he thought it was best to give him a fighting chance. After all, at least with the Uchiha his feelings were a little bit stronger than his past love interests. So why not see how it goes? He was certainly the boldest suitor he'd ever experienced.

"I know it's a small crush for you Uzumaki." Sasuke stepped closer to Naruto and ruffled his hair. "But take my feelings into account too. I happen to have a very big liking towards you. And it's more than just physical."

Naruto was a little bit surprised by this. The revelation hit him that his senpai did seem to express real romantic feelings towards him. He would accept that they were there but like he said before, he won't fall so easily for Uchiha Sasuke.

After all, Sasuke was the one pursuing him.

"Okay senpai. I'll... be your friend. But you better because I'm sort of a high maintenance friend."

His senpai was silent for a moment. "Tell me about how you and Sai met."

"Huh?"

"Sai, your friend. How did you get stuck with a guy like that?"

Naruto figured that this was Sasuke's way of easing the tension. "Well I met him at the end of my first year in sixth grade but he transferred almost towards the very end of the school year. I remember how he…"

* * *

**A/N:** Short chapter, I'm really sorry about that. But I was almost about to skip out again until I got this random energy to type this out & upload it. Still, I feel like this chapter _could_ have more… But I want to save it for other chapters.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Eh I felt the last chapter was _very_ lame because I know I didn't put much effort into it. But I promise, this one should be better!

**DISCLAIMER:** Naruto isn't mine

* * *

"Senpai… senpai this is boring!" Naruto groaned out. He shifted his weight onto his right leg and lolled his head back to look up at the ceiling. He looked at his surroundings, occasionally catching the glance of another customer nearby. "I thought we were going to do something interesting."

Sasuke playfully slapped the back of the blonde's head and continued searching through the clothes on the rack. "This is important to me Uzumaki. We're supposed to be sharing interests and getting to know one another." He said as he pulled out a hanger.

The blonde sighed and looked through the rack of clothes as well. "I know it is senpai… but I can't give you any input on what swimsuit you need to buy. Can't you just pick one and then we can go?"

"Tch, dobe. Do you think runners just slap on any pair of shoes they can find and go run? No, they need to find the right and comfortable pair that are just for them." Sasuke explained. He pulled Naruto towards the changing rooms with one hand while holding the jammers he picked out in the other. "Just at least tell me if it looks good on me."

So Naruto waited on a bench and waited for Sasuke to change. This was their attempt at beginning their friendship by starting off with a simple trip into the city. Apparently Sasuke needed to buy new jammers and he thought that he could use this opportunity to start things off between them.

"Uzumaki, do they look alright on me?" Sasuke asked when he pulled back the curtain to his changing room. His jammers had patterns of blue stripes down the legs and he looked down at his choice.

"It looks good on you senpai."

"I need a different one."

"What? But you just chose that one."

"It doesn't fit right. I don't feel comfortable in it." Sasuke sighed as he closed the curtain to change into his clothes. "I need something that fits better…"

Naruto had pulled out his phone and texted Sai. He told him about how he was out with Sasuke right now and he was bored out of his mind. He never really minded shopping but he didn't know how to shop for something he didn't know about like swimsuits. The blonde thought it was just pick one out and then out you go. But apparently not so.

His phone dinged and he looked at the message from Sai.

_Trying to get a look at his dick?_

He growled and put his phone back in his pocket. He stood up from the bench and walked towards the curtain. "Senpai, I'm going to walk around the store. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I'll text you when I'm ready."

So Naruto walked out of the changing rooms and explored the rest of the store. He did feel that it was a little rude to just sort of walk out on Sasuke but he didn't want to stay planted on a bench and giving yes or no answers to what swimsuit his senpai wanted.

While walking through aisles, he happened to catch a jacket on sale on one of the clearance racks. Naruto immediately walked up to it and checked the price of the jacket. In an instant it was gone off the rack and he was moving towards the line for cashiers. And while waiting in the line, he admired orange and black jacket in his arms. The material felt nice and lightweight and he could imagine himself wearing it.

"Uzumaki, you're here. I just texted you."

Naruto looked back to see Sasuke behind him and holding a pair of jammers.

"Yeah, I saw this jacket on clearance and I wanted it." He explained as he moved up the line. "I see that you finally chose something."

"The fit felt good on me. What about that jacket?"

"I needed a new jacket to keep me warm when I go running in the morning."

"You run in the morning? How often?"

"Run or jog, whatever. I try to do it maybe four or five times a week, I like to do it in the morning."

Naruto walked up to the cashier and set his purchase on the table as he pulled out his wallet. He was asked for identification so he tried to pull out his ID. But it slipped through his fingers and it fell on the floor. Before he could reach for it, Sasuke was already picking it up and handing it to him.

But not before taking a look at it first.

"Wait… the name on your ID says Namikaze."

Naruto swiped his card away and then flashed it to the cashier. He paid and was handed his cash back but he simply answered to the Uchiha that it was just a name and it was nothing to be concerned about.

Outside the store and with their purchases, Sasuke asked Naruto why the last name on his ID was different.

Naruto sighed and pulled out his ID again. "You need to look more carefully Uchiha-senpai. It says Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto." He let his senpai take a good long look at it before returning it back to his place. "I just happen to go by my mother's maiden name instead of my father's."

Sasuke walked beside his kouhai, relishing in the new information he just learned about the little blonde beside him. Any kind of fact about Naruto, he was willing to learn and memorize. "Any particular reason?" he asked.

"I just feel more like an Uzumaki instead of a Namikaze. I like my father's name but I feel like my name sounds better with my mother's. I tried to use Namikaze before but I decided to go by Uzumaki instead, even when my parents got married." Naruto explained. They both stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the signal to go off to let them cross.

Sasuke nodded his head while listening but happened to focus in on that last part. "Wait, after your parents got married?"

"Oh uh… my parents didn't marry each other right away. My grandparents wanted them to marry when my mom got pregnant with my older brother but they didn't feel that it was the 'right time' to get married." Naruto said as he walked by Sasuke's side when the signal went off. "I mean, my parents were in love and all that stuff but at the time they didn't feel like it was necessary to marry each other yet."

"So when did they marry?" Sasuke asked. He noticed that he wasn't leading the way anymore and now he was following his kouhai's lead. "If you don't mind me asking." He added in.

"They got married when I was five years old, they sort of had a western wedding. You know, my mom wearing a wedding dress and my dad wearing a tux. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. They were together and happy before they got married and it's the same way now. Over here senpai." Naruto pulled on the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke smiled again at the knowledge he was learning. "That's the opposite of my parents. They're traditional so my father courted my mother. And they had a traditional Japanese wedding. They waited an appropriate amount of time in their marriage to try for their first child, my older brother." He let himself be pulled by Naruto but he asked where he was being lead to.

But he was only told to just follow Naruto.

"So… do you imagine yourself getting married?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

Naruto looked up in thought and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, maybe. I can't imagine myself getting married right away like at twenty or whatever. Maybe I'll do what my parents did, just not do it right away." They stopped in front of a DVD store, which Naruto said that he wanted to check something out there.

So following the blonde, Sasuke watched him peruse through the aisles of movies and tv shows on DVD.

"I found it!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled out a DVD box set. "Finally, I found it!"

"Found what Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked as he got a closer look of the cover of the DVD set. "What is that?"

So Naruto excitedly told him about an anime he had watched and how he loved it so much. But he wanted it on DVD but couldn't find any decent prices online so he'd been exploring any shops that sold DVDs to finally find it. And with even greater detail, he told Sasuke all about the plot.

Sasuke, however, just rolled his eyes. "Really? Diaries that can predict the future? Doesn't sound exciting."

"Teme…" Naruto muttered. He went up to the cash register and paid for the DVD set and almost put it into the bag with his new jacket. But he stopped and handed it to Sasuke instead. "Here."

"What? You want me to hold it?" Sasuke took the DVD set and looked down at it.

"No, I'm going to lend it to you."

"What?" The Uchiha's head shot up to look at the blonde. "I'm going to watch this thing?"

Naruto nodded and started to walk out the store. "Yeah, I want you to watch it because it's a really good show! It's only twenty four episodes so it won't take you long."

"Wha-What? Twenty four episodes? I'm not going to watch them all in a row Uzumaki."

"I know that senpai! Just watch it and give it back by the end of the month. You're going to like it!"

And Sasuke was ready to protest and say that he wasn't into watching anything such as anime. But the dazzling smile Naruto gave him made him bite his tongue. He looked down at the set again and sighed to himself. He supposed that if it got him on Naruto's good side then he couldn't see why not.

But later in his home, Sasuke was pushing in the disc with episodes twelve through sixteenin his DVD player.

"Shit, this is good." He muttered to himself. "Yuno, you fucking crazy bitch…"

There was a knock at Sasuke's bedroom door and he heard his mother's voice from the other side. "Sasuke? Are you okay? You haven't come out of your room since you came home. It's dinner time you know." Her voiced was laced with concern and she pressed her ear against the door.

"Can I eat in my room mother? I'm a little busy." Sasuke's finger hovered over the button to press play.

"That's not proper Sasuke. Whatever you're doing right now can be continued when dinner is over. Now come downstairs."

"Damn it…"

ヽ(･ω･)丿

"So when do you breathe? Do you have to do it every time your head comes out of the water? Do you use your mouth or your nose?"

"You're asking a lot of questions Uzumaki. And I'm about to go do laps."

"Well, I just want to know how swimming works senpai. And who's better to ask other than my senpai?"

"Uchiha!" the captain called. "We're working on our times for the two hundred meter!"

Sasuke ruffled Naruto's hair before running towards the pool. He yelled to the blonde to just watch as he practiced. His hair was all pushed up into his swim cap and he secured his goggles over his eyes.

"Wait! What style do you do?" Naruto called out. But he sighed and just decided to watch Sasuke in action instead. Maybe then he would understand how competitive swimmers do it. So he kept his eyes trained on the Uchiha as he swam two hundred meters. He was completely enraptured by how fast he was but also how smoothly he swam.

He was so focused that he didn't even notice when Sai stood by his side. At least not until his friend leaned down to whisper in his ear, "Dickless, if you keep your mouth open like that Sasuke-kun may view it as an invitation to stick a certain part of him in you."

Naruto shut his mouth and glared at Sai.

"Will you stop making sex jokes for once in your life?"

"It wasn't a sex joke. I was thinking about how Sasuke-kun would try to stick his tongue in your mouth to kiss you. But I suppose if you're thinking about his-"

Naruto slapped Sai's back. "I swear, these days you're going to get punched in the mouth for all those stupid things you say." Then he looked back to Sasuke who was talking to one of the other team members. "You do… the breast stroke right Sai? What does Uchiha-senpai do?"

"Sasuke-kun swims freestyle, though he does swim rather efficiently at the butterfly."

"Butterfly… is that the one with the weird kick?"

"No, mine is the one with the weird kick." Sai nudged Naruto and smoothed down some of the hairs that stuck out in particular spots. "You've become awfully curious about swimming ever since meeting Sasuke-kun. You were never interested when I joined."

"That's because, as I recall, with almost every question I asked you made it into a sexual innuendo somehow! So I just stopped asking you."

"And I suppose that the both of you have begun your beautiful journey of friendship that will end in a magical relationship?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't get ahead of yourself Sai. Senpai and I just started this friend thing and there's no guarantee that there will be anything romantic between us. For all we know he could get bored of me before he even tries anything romantic on me."

"You should give him more credit Naruto. Maybe Sasuke-kun will be able to sweep you off your feet and you'll figure out that you're soul mates and spend the rest of your life with him."

"Geez Sai, it almost sounds like you want us to be together." Naruto commented and waited for Sai's response. But to his surprise, Sai was silent. He looked back and noticed the seriousness on his friend's face. "Wait… you actually think that Uchiha-senpai and I will end up together?

Before Sai could respond, Sasuke had come back and walked towards the two of them. And once he was within five feet of the two, Sai had reached and grabbed Naruto's ass.

"Thank you Naruto, I was feeling quite tired. But touching this wonderful ass you have always seemed to rejuvenate me." Sai went as far as to even lean forward give a quick peck to his friend's lips. And he dodged the kick Sasuke gave him when he ran past him to get jump into the pool.

The captain who was standing nearby told him to stop messing around.

Sasuke glared at Sai before looking back at Naruto, who was quite unfazed by the kiss.

"Uzumaki… you're not upset?" he asked, trying to mask his own anger from Sai's action.

Naruto shrugged and pulled out his phone, typing a message to his brother. "Not really. I mean, I freaked out the first time he did it of course. But I've realized that even if Sai kisses me, I don't really feel anything. Well, they're not even kisses I guess. It's like those small kisses that kids give to some relatives. Not that I'm saying that it happens a lot but… I just don't feel anything between us. I think Sai and I are really meant to be just friends."

Sasuke was silent as he listened to Naruto and he contemplated something…

"I guess when you think about it, there is some sort of weird boundary thing between us. Like, I've let him do those small little pecks and I haven't freaked out about in years. But I mean, it's not like I let him get away with it every time if that's what you're thinking. It's really weird senpai, I kno-"

The blonde was interrupted when Sasuke leaned in close, their noses almost touching. His hand came up to cup Naruto's cheek and tilted his head back slightly. "Could I do what Sai does Uzumaki? Invade your space like he does and have you be perfectly fine with it?" he asked in a low whisper.

Naruto's face flushed red and he was speechless. He never knew how bold his senior could be.

However Sasuke instead kissed his forehead before retreating and smoothed down Naruto's hair. "I'm sorry, forget that I did that Uzumaki. Sai's been your friend for years and it's only been two weeks for us. Perhaps a little early for me to push some boundaries."

"… Maybe a little." Naruto muttered. He put a hand on his cheeks and cursed at how warm they felt. He could only imagine how red his face was right now. But he wanted to move on for the moment and asked Sasuke what he thought of the DVDs he let him borrow.

Sasuke cleared his throat and looked at the pool. "It's uh… it's okay. I'm only on episode four right now, I'm taking my time." He lied; he had actually finished the series but didn't want to give Naruto the satisfaction that he enjoyed it a lot.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey, ten points to whoever can guess what anime was mentioned in here! "Diaries that predict the future" and "Yuno" are your hints! If you guess correctly, you earn a satisfied feeling from being correct haha. But I feel a lot better about this chapter & I hope you all enjoyed it!

By the way if you haven't checked out my recent oneshot _Pay_, feel free to take a look at it! It may become a story in the future but only if I reach a certain goal for it!


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** Kishimoto has been owning Naruto for a couple of years now…

* * *

Naruto wasn't quite used to all the staring yet. Sure, he was used to do it whenever he did something ridiculous or if he was with Sai. That's when he didn't mind being looked at.

But simply just… _walking_ down the hall in their school, he felt uneasy with everyone looking at him.

Apparently the shock of Uchiha Sasuke pursuing him still hadn't died down yet.

He wouldn't let it affect him though; there was no guarantee that he would grow to have a romantic interest in Sasuke. For now, they were supposed to be just friends. And he was still trying to ease himself into this friendship thing with his senpai with the knowledge that Sasuke was quite confident that Naruto would become his.

And like he said, he wouldn't fall so easily for his senpai!

Though he couldn't help but feel a little flutter in his stomach when he thought of the memory of last week when Sasuke invaded his space.

But Naruto simply shook his head and continued on. It was just a little crush he had and he was sure that it wouldn't amount to anything too serious.

"So, you guys have another tournament coming up right?" Naruto asked both Sai and Sasuke. They all sat on the roof of the school together during their lunch period. Purposefully he sat with his back towards the others students on the roof. "What are you guys going to do?"

Sai handed Naruto a bottle of juice and pulled out his own lunch. "Well, we're obviously going to have to do more practice after school so I probably won't walk home with you for the next week or so. During practice, the captain is going to be watching us very closely to see who he is going to put in the individual events and what team he will put together for the relay." He explained.

"Senpai," Naruto turned to Sasuke, "are you going to do the relay?"

Sasuke shrugged and wiped at his mouth after taking a bite of his lunch. "Probably not this time around. I'll just do an individual event, but I guess it's up to the captain of the team."

"Um, I've been meaning to ask you senpai." Naruto started, "how come you're on the swim team? Are you trying to get scouted for a good college for it, maybe go international?" he asked. He tilted his head in question and tapped his foot on the ground.

"No, I'm not going into sports if that's what you're asking Uzumaki." He answered. He took a sip of water before continuing. "My parents thought I needed an after school activity so they asked me to join a club or a sport. And I didn't think it was a bad idea so I didn't argue against it, I'm capable of balancing my studies and my practice. I decided on swimming just because I'm not very fond of sports that require throwing or passing any object to a teammate."

"So… if you're not going into sports then what are you going into?"

"The family business, of course. I'll go earn a degree in business at a university, be trained under my father, and carry on the family business. My brother is doing the same thing; we're very big on tradition and continuing the family line." The Uchiha shrugged and went to go throw away his garbage before returning to sit with the two boys. "What about the two of you? What are your plans?"

Naruto looked up in thought and then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about what I wanted to do or even if I want to go to college. I mean, I guess I will but I don't know what I would study in. Maybe I'll go into liberal arts; that goes into a bunch of different subjects so I could choose my field in there. Maybe I could do cooking or literature but I can't do stuff like science because I don't like it." He nudged Sai and reached over to grab a pork roll from his box. "I know what Sai is going into, obviously."

And right on cue, Sai had pulled out his sketchbook and handed it to the blonde to look at. He pushed himself against his friend, resting his head on his shoulder and watching Naruto flip through the pages.

Sasuke knew Naruto was talking but no words registered into his brain. All he could think about was how close Sai was to Naruto. And usually whenever the boy pushed his boundaries the blonde would push him away or hit him. But in this case, he was actually leaning into his friend's touch with no hint of being uncomfortable by it.

And he knew that he shouldn't have been jealous by such a scene but he was. He had to rationalize though; Naruto and Sai had been friends for a long time so naturally they have a bond that allows them to be in such close proximity with one another without feeling uncomfortable. They were allowed to be that close in their relationship. They've developed and intimacy with one another that has brought them to be comfortable with each other in such a position.

Still, he wished he was in Sai's position.

"So you're going to go into arts Sai?" Sasuke asked, trying to stop himself before diving too deep in his thoughts. "Any section of art you may go into?"

"I'm a very big fanatic of painting. I believe in getting the hands dirty when it comes to art, I'll handle any type of art equipment I need to do. Charcoal, pastels, water color, anything." Sai took in a silent breath and continued. "Though in this age, people are looking for art majors that have works in graphic design or even photography. So maybe I'll take on another one instead of just painting alone."

Sasuke nodded at the words. He was actually going to suggest to Sai to have some sort of experience in media design if he wanted to go into arts. After all, paintings and sketches weren't good enough alone anymore. It helped to know how to design using media alongside with actually knowing how to use easels, paints, and sketchbooks. They were a digital age now.

Sai had started nuzzling his head against Naruto's… which was actually being reciprocated.

The two friends sat and nuzzled their heads together until Sai started grinding too hard against the blonde's head.

Naruto pulled away and smoothed down his hair. "Ow, okay Sai you win." He grumbled as he handed the sketchbook back to his friend. He briefly glanced at Sasuke and caught the small hint of jealousy in his eyes before looking down at the ground. He looked around to see people still staring at them so he turned away. "So senpai, you like swimming? Did you start when you were a first year?"

Sasuke nodded his head and crossed his legs. "Yeah, I started when I was a first year and I joined the day they did that club recruiting. And I just figured why not for swimming? I knew how to swim but going into the club they would teach me how to swim for competition rather than just for recreation. So I learned how to tuck my hair into a swim cap, chose what kind of jammers I want to wear, and just joined." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Naruto. "What about you Uzumaki? Why aren't you in a club or sport?"

Being asked the question, the blonde scratched the back of his head and chuckled a little bit. "Hehe… you see the thing is-"

"He doesn't know how to balance his studies with clubs." Sai explained. He did nothing when he felt a sharp slap to his back but turn to give his friend a smile.

"I was getting to that!" Naruto growled. But he took a deep breath and looked back at his senpai. "I was originally in the volleyball club in middle school in my first year. I was really good at it and I got along with my teammates and all that stuff. But my uh… parents had to pull me out of it because just like Sai said, I couldn't balance my club activities with my grades."

"Well that was back in middle school. You don't think that you could actually pull off balancing studies and school activities if you joined a club now?" Sasuke asked.

The blonde shook his head in answer. "No, I know myself pretty well. If I joined a club then I know I'll definitely choose their activities over school work. I used to do other things but I um… outgrew them. So studies are pretty important to me." He once again looked back to see that people were starting to leave the roof. "Huh? Is it time to go?"

Sai looked down at the watch on his left wrist. "Yeah, lunch is over dickless so we better get going so you can earn those good grades. I'll see you later at practice Sasuke-kun."

ヽ(･ω･)丿

Sasuke and Sai both pushed themselves out of the pool to group up with the other swimmers. Their captain had called on them to give an announcement about the upcoming tournament. It was just about what schools would also be there and if any of them wanted to do individual events or the relay, then they had to show hard work to earn it. They were encouraged to make a swimming regimen for themselves in addition as well.

After washing out the chlorine from his hair, Sasuke stepped out of the showers and moved to the locker that held his belongings. He simply pulled on his underwear and pants and started to towel off his wet hair. The swimming regimen was on his mind but he pushed that off for now and decided to save it for tomorrow or the next day after to do.

"So how is your conquest for the blonde booty?"

Sasuke sighed and stopped drying his hair with the towel. He pulled it off and looked up at Sai who stood in front of him wearing just a towel and his hair still wet. "I'm not just after his body Sai."

Sai just shrugged and wiped down at his hair a little. "Of course not, I'm sure you have many fascinations with my friend Uzumaki Naruto. I'm sure you would like to know his birthday, shoe size, least favorite movie genre, and what kinds of animals he likes. Maybe you'd like to know how he likes to be handled or if he likes it gentle."

"… Yeah, sure." Sasuke eyed his teammate slowly before reaching into his bag and putting on his shirt. He folded his towel and pushed it into his gym bag before hauling it on his shoulder. He was about to walk away before he stopped and looked back at Sai one more time. "Aside from the sexual innuendos I know you're just dying to push into this conversation, what does Uzumaki like?" he asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, what's his favorite food?"

"He has lots of favorites, but he has a particularly like towards noodle dishes."

"Any television shows he watches?"

"He likes anime."

"… Hobbies?"

"He used to do a lot of pranking when he was a kid. But around our second year in middle school his mother scared him into not doing any anymore. Doing pranks is what kept him busy. Hence he started watching television and likes anime. Every once in a while he'll fold origami."

Sasuke thought back to their conversation earlier and remembered that the blonde had said that he had "outgrown" something. So he must have meant the pranking.

"Habits?"

"… Don't tell him that I mentioned this to you because he hates it when people point it out. But he walks pigeon toed sometimes. He'll walk and his knees will just brush together and he won't notice it but he gets embarrassed when people point it out."

And thus the next day when Sasuke walked alongside Sai, he couldn't help but now focus on the fact that in fact Naruto _did_ walk pigeon toed sometimes. And he desperately wanted to tell his kouhai but was told that the blonde hated it when it was pointed out.

"Senpai, are you okay?" Naruto asked. "You look like you have something you want to say."

But Sasuke shook his head and just shrugged his shoulders.

He was starting to come up with the conspiracy that Sai fucked him over on purpose telling him that small piece of information. So for about a week, Sasuke couldn't stop focusing on the fact that Naruto would walk pigeon toed and not do anything about it until he finally broke down while walking alongside the blonde and his friend. "Uzumaki, do you know you walk pigeon toed sometimes? You should try to work on that so it doesn't go beyond your adult years."

Naruto looked up at him and then at his knees. "Oh yeah, thanks for telling me senpai." He said calmly instead of getting angry like the Uchiha expected. "Sometimes I forget that I do that and it completely slips my mind to correct myself. Yeah, I've been trying to work on that. I told Sai to correct me whenever I'm doing it but he never helps."

Sasuke glared up at Sai, who only gave him an innocent smile.

Looking between the two, Naruto didn't know the reason for the exchange but he wouldn't dwell on it. He looked around to see people watching the three of them walking together and he shrugged. He still wasn't used to it yet but it bothered him less to walk around and be seen with his senpai.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry I've been AWOL but you know how it is, school & stuff.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Ugh, I am definitely getting out of schedule here but with school, it's hard to maintain the days I actually upload versus the days I should have uploaded.

**DISCLAIMER:** Kishimoto owns Naruto like I own a pair of shoes (for a very long time)

* * *

Sai was bent over a piece of paper, looking down at his swimming regimen with his math homework on the side. He twirled his pencil with his left hand and his cheek rested against the palm of his right hand. His foot tapped rhythmically in four time and he felt a tickle in his nose that kept on making him want to sneeze but it wasn't quite coming out. He tried to concentrate on what else to put down for his swimming regimen but he was quite distracted with the chattering blonde behind him.

"Kyuu! Tell me that joke again! The one about the street performer and the four guys in the back that couldn't see him! I still don't understand it!" Naruto whined into his phone. He kicked his feet on the bed and listened to his brother, carefully trying to pay attention. He was silent for a few small moments, contemplating the joke still. "… I _still_ don't get it Kyuubi! Okay, tell it to me again! Maybe I'll get it this time!"

Leaning back in the chair, he tilted his head up at the ceiling and looked at some of the glow in the dark stars. "If you didn't understand it the first few times, what makes you think you'll understand it by being repeated ten more times. Just think about it dickless, you're not brainless." Sai groaned. He had listened to his friend talk to his brother for about half an hour talking to his brother but the last five minutes were spent about a joke he still didn't understand.

Not that he knew the joke himself, but if the blonde wasn't going to get the answer by having the joke repeated to him then he wouldn't get it soon.

Naruto glared at him but sat up in his bed. "I'll talk to you later in Kyuubi… Okay, I'll do well in school. You too, bye." He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. "How's your stuff coming along Sai?"

"I'm getting a little hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" he asked as he set down his pencil on top of his work.

"We have leftovers that I cooked yesterday. We could just heat it up and eat in front of the tv. That sound good?"

"Sounds fine. I think I need a break."

Both boys left the blonde's bedroom and headed downstairs.

Naruto prepared their bowls while Sai just waited in front of the television, changing the channels and not staying on one in particular.

"Sai! I can hear you changing the channels! Will you stick to one dammit!" Naruto yelled from the kitchen. Then there was beeping coming from the kitchen. "One bowl down! One more to go!"

Just two minutes later, both boys sat in front of the television watching some mindless action movie playing on the air. They chatted about the movie in between their bites of food, some of their homework that they had yet to finish, and other subjects. And afterwards when the movie was over, the bowls were washed, and they downed a glass of milk (at Naruto's insistence), they stood in the middle of the living room. They weren't quite ready to return to doing homework.

Naruto stretched his back and looked at the time on the clock nearby. "Do you want to like, walk around the park or in town or something?" he asked.

Sai just shrugged but agreed to go walk around the park together.

About half an hour into their walk, Naruto was trying to reach into a pond to grab a toad while Sai stood off to the side.

"Come on little guy… I won't hurt you…" Naruto said sweetly to the toad sitting on a rock. He wiggled his fingers, trying to entice the amphibian onto his hand and stretched his arm out as far as he could without falling into the pond. "Sai, come help me get him! I want to bring him home!" he called, looking back briefly at his friend.

"That is disgusting Naruto." Sai grunted and he made a face at the toad in the pond. "If you actually touch that thing, you might catch something and get sick. Now get away from there!"

"What's the matter with you? You're around water all the time!"

"It's chlorinated!"

"You get dirty all the time when you do your art stuff!"

"There is a big difference between handling art supplies and creatures from the outside."

"Damn it Sai just help me-! Oh… he got away."

The toad had finally hopped off its rock and into the water, swimming away from the two boys.

Naruto walked back to Sai with a pout on his face and his arm crossed like a little kid. "He got away because you wouldn't help me!"

"Believe me Naruto, even if you had my help the thing still would not have gone home with you." Sai started to push his friend away from the pond to continue walking. "You have been obsessed with toads and frogs ever since you got that weird little pen."

"Its name is Gama-chan!" Naruto shouted. He pulled out his phone which actually had the little frog as a phone charm. "And he is adorable and I love him!"

"What about foxes? You liked foxes."

"I like both Gama-chan and foxes." Naruto corrected. "Kyuubi is the one who got me into foxes. And he also got me into reading this one book series and actually putting money in my piggy bank instead of letting it sit empty and-"

"Brother's complex." Sai interrupted.

Naruto kicked his shin but didn't continue on.

Their walk in the park turned into a walk into the town, the both of them still not feeling up to continue doing homework. So once they were in the town they decided to pass by the shops and look around to pass the time.

"Sai, no matter what I do or say, don't allow me to spend any money! I'm trying to save it up!"

"You got it dickless."

So the two of them walked around and window shopped. They occasionally stepped inside a certain store if it looked interesting. And just like Sai was assigned to do, he didn't let his friend buy anything that he saw in any store they went into. He even went as far as to take the blonde's wallet and put it in his own pockets. And no doubt that he would tease the blonde with sexual innuendos while simultaneously doing his job.

However Naruto started getting irritated so he brought him into the library nearby and pushed him towards the aquarium they had on display. Something about just watching fish swim around always brought a peace to the both of them. They even had a plan in the future to go visit an actual aquarium one day together.

"Ready to head back dickless?"

"Yeah I'm ready to go back home you dick."

On the way back Naruto continued to talk about the joke that he didn't understand. Kyuubi had told it to him a week ago and he still hadn't solved it. And finally fed up with the blonde complaining, Sai asked what the joke was.

Naruto looked up in thought trying to say the joke word for word and recite it. "An Englishman, a Frenchman, a Spaniard, and a German are all standing watching a street performer do some excellent juggling, I think is how it starts. The juggler notices that the four gentlemen have a very poor view, so he stands on top of a big box. Then the street performer says, 'Can you all see me now?'" Naruto took a breath and then finished the joke. "'Yes.' 'Oui.' 'Si.' 'Ja.'"

Sai chuckled and pat the top of Naruto's blonde hair. "Wow, that is so obvious. I believe that Sasuke-kun is right calling you a dobe." He chuckled.

"Hey! How come you got it right away? I don't get it!" he whined and stomped his foot.

"Just… just sleep on it." Sai sighed.

Night had fallen, their homework was all finished, they had eaten, and showered. Sai was on the floor, sleeping on the futon and of course, Naruto was on his bed. It was close to midnight when he woke up and started thinking about the joke.

Then he abruptly sat up and jumped on Sai, effectively waking him up. "I finally understand it!" he shouted.

"Naruto! What's going on?" Minato called.

"Naruto! I thought I said not to stay up late!" Kushina shouted, stomping coming towards the bedroom.

Both boys cowered in fear when the tired, red headed woman appeared at the doorway.

ヽ(･ω･)丿

"The both of you look tired. What happened?" a classmate asked as she approached Naruto and Sai when they entered the classroom. "Is it that exam that we have to do soon? Are you tired because of that? I'm pretty beat too, studying for it."

Naruto shook his head and rubbed at his neck. "No, it's not that we… Wait, we have a test?"

Sai rubbed at his temples and lightly nudged his friend. "I don't like loud noises early in the morning dickless. We're tired because of some stupid joke he didn't understand until last night. Then he jumped on me and screamed that he finally understood and then… his mother came into the room."

Their classmate just gave them a sympathetic smile and pats both of their shoulders in encouragement. "There there, I'm sure when it comes to lunchtime I'm sure Naruto-kun will feel better."

"Because of the food? Food does make me happy and brighten my day."

"No silly! Doesn't spending time with Uchiha-senpai always cheer you up? You seem to be in a good mood whenever he is around or after you're done being with him." She leaned in to whisper, "Is it because you really like him Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's face flushed red but he tried to play it off by pouting. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" he pouted and pulled Sai to their designated seats. He leaned back in his chair and slouched against the back and his eyes started to feel heavy again, tempting him to go right back to sleep. Then suddenly he felt his seat tilt back and he jerked. "Fuck!"

Some of the students laughed at the sight.

Apparently Sai had actually snuck up behind Naruto's chair and started to slowly tilt him back. He made sure to keep a secure grip on the chair to ensure that his friend never actually fell. "Wakey wakey." Sai teased.

Naruto glared up at Sai and continued to pout. "You are such a dick! And I want juice!"

"Well that's too bad because sensei just walked in. And now you have to wait to get your juice."

But when it was finally lunchtime, Naruto happily received a juice box from Sai and practically started shaking when he tried to open it. He was _really_ excited just to get a small juice box, which Sai had actually pointed out. And Naruto just replied that there was nothing wrong about getting excited about small things like getting a box of juice or not tripping over untied shoelaces or finding lots of money in your pocket.

"Yes! This taste so good! I _love_ juice!" Naruto moaned out after drinking a bit of juice from the box.

"Calm down Uzumaki, don't get horny just because you drank a little bit of juice."

Both Naruto and Sai turned around to see Sasuke walking towards them with a bento box in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He approached the two of them and looked down at Naruto. "You look a little tired Uzumaki. You get enough sleep last night?"

"Okay, so get this senpai. My brother told me this joke a week ago and I just did not get it until last night! I called my brother to tell me the joke again and I thought that I would understand if he told it to me again. So I told the joke to Sai and he said that it was _so_ obvious! And I didn't figure out the joke until last night!" Naruto explained as he walked with Sasuke.

"So what's this joke that took a week for you to figure out?" Sasuke asked.

While Naruto and Sasuke walked together, neither had taken notice that Sai was not with them. Instead he had discreetly slowed down his pace so that the blonde and the Uchiha could walk together. But a decent distance away he watched the two of them walk side by side… and Naruto's ass.

But mostly to watch the two walk together.

* * *

"So I guess no more tournaments until next spring senpai. At least not until next year." Naruto commented. It had been a week since the tournament and everyone was still congratulating their school's swim team in third place for their medley. "Unless you plan on not continuing for your third year?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't really matter to me in particular, I know it won't affect me when I'm adult. For me, it's just a nice extracurricular to have." Then he turned to Sai to ask him the same question.

Sai just simply stated that he would continue if the art club wouldn't let him back in for his second year. Then he turned to his friend and his senpai and asked, "So when are you two going to go out on a date?"

Naruto yelped and reflexively punched Sai in the arm. Sasuke just looked at him owlishly before letting a smirk come onto his face. He put an arm around his kouhai and pulled him close. "What do you say Uzumaki? Sai wants a date from us."

"I uh… I don't know…" Naruto said slowly. "I mean, do I like you enough senpai for me to even go out with you and call it a date?"

Suddenly there were whispers that he heard so Naruto turned around and flushed at a group of some of their classmates that had walked by them. "Oh my gosh! Naruto-kun and Uchiha-senpai are going on a date!" one of them had whispered. "And did you see the way Uchiha-senpai was holding Naruto-kun?"

And then they were gone as quickly as they had come.

"I… they think we're going on a date now…" Naruto mumbled, dumbstruck from the idea of going on a date with his senpai. "I didn't… They think…"

Sasuke took opportunity of the moment. "Well we certainly can't let them be disappointed Uzumaki. Where would you like to go for our date?" he asked. He had a few simple ideas to go on for a date but he thought that it would be courteous to ask what his kouhai would want to do on the date.

That is if Naruto would recover any time soon to answer his question.

So Sai slapped the blonde's back. "Don't be rude dickless. Sasuke-kun is asking you where you would like to go on your date."

Naruto looked between the two of the boys and down at the floor. "I… do we have to go on a date?"

"I would like it if we did Uzumaki." Sasuke answered. "I want to go on a date with you."

"I… okay." Naruto sighed, almost in defeat. But the way Sasuke had said that he wanted to go on a date with him had struck something within him so he allowed it. "But it has to be next week, I can't do it this week."

"Why?"

Then blue eyes lit up with excitement and he started bouncing on his heels. "I'm going to go see my brother this weekend!"

* * *

**A/N:** Don't worry, Naruto going to see Kyuubi will be included in the next chapter. And so will Sasuke and Naruto's date, because I'm almost ten chapters into this story and there hasn't been a significant progression because I've been busy and lazy. But yeah, I'm gonna try to turn up the romance between our two little twats within the next few chapters.

And I'm sure you have all heard very sad news that the very last manga chapter of Naruto will be November 10. So put aside your ship wars and remember how Naruto had brought something to your life. Like, it took up at least a decade of my life so for sure I'm going to be sad… and stuff. And don't forget about the last Naruto movie too which will be coming out in December (at least for Japan).


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER:** Kishimoto… yeah…

* * *

"Now Kyuubi, you show your brother that college is _educational_. Okay? It's fun but remember to emphasize that this is also an institution for learning. Make an impression on Naruto." Minato told his oldest son, his hand on his shoulder. He knew that college could be a fun place but he needed his youngest son to know that a college's most important value was the education it provided to you. "Do you understand? Educational. Let Naruto know that."

"Yeah Dad, I got it." Kyuubi laughed. It was a long weekend so Kyuubi had suggested to his parents that they bring Naruto to the college so that they could spend some brotherly time together. They had agreed to it and of course, Naruto was ecstatic to know that it would be the two of them for the long weekend. He hugged his dad before turning to Kushina. "Okay Mom, I'll see you Sunday."

Kushina was squeezing Naruto in a tight hug and even had him lifted off the ground, some of the passing by students aweing at the sight. "You be good while you're with your brother okay? Call me if you need anything! Make sure to not to mess up your brother's dorm room!"

It was a combined effort to pull Kushina off of Naruto, the latter taking in deep breaths of being hugged so tightly. The two brothers waved while watching their parents drive off, still hearing Kushina bawl as she saw the both of her babies get smaller in the distance.

Kyuubi clapped his hands together and put an arm around his little brother to lead him onto the campus. He couldn't help but think about how cute Naruto was aweing at the school grounds. He passed by a few people he knew while he was on his way to his dorm building.

"Wow! This is a college dorm!" Naruto awed when he stepped into his brother's dorm. He set his backpack down on the floor and walked around to inspect the room. "Which is your bed Kyuubi?" he asked as he looked between the two beds that were pressed up against the walls of the room.

"To your left Naru." Kyuubi said as he picked up his brother's backpack and set it nearby his desk. It was impeccably clean since he wanted to give his little brother a good impression of his room. When he was asked where his roommate was, he answered that he wouldn't really see him. Kyuubi had told his roommate that he would be having his brother with him for the weekend and his roommate decided to stay with his girlfriend so that Naruto could borrow his bed. "So what do you think Naru?"

"This place is really nice." Naruto answered. "And your room is clean, not like back home when you lived with us." He added as a comment and laughed when a pillow was thrown in his face. "What! You were always really messy before you moved!"

The redhead clicked his tongue and sat beside his brother. "That's because Mom was always there to bug me to clean up. Now I have a roommate to bug me to clean up ever since the incident."

"What incident?" Naruto asked, tilting his head curiosity. "I wanna know!"

His brother reached up to ruffle his hair and leaned back to lie down on the comforter. "Well, me and my first roommate were both equally messy. I left stuff around and he left stuff around, and we were both first time college students too. So it was nice to not have someone to bug us about how we should always keep our room clean and all that crap. But around finals time, there were papers everywhere in our room. And we had a final that started in two buildings that were across from each other on campus that started at the exact same time."

"We did an all-nighter doing our papers but we both fell asleep an hour before the final. When we woke up we were in a crazy rush to get our shit together and well… long story short we couldn't find our papers for a while and when we did, he got mine and I got his."

Naruto giggled and pouted when he felt a pinch on his side.

"Don't you be laughing little one, you'll be experiencing the same things when you start going to university. Oh, speaking of which…" Kyuubi sat up and pulled a brochure on his bedside table. "Dad wants me to let you know how great college is, but I'm way too lazy so here's a brochure."

"You're too lazy to tell me about college?"

"I got to save up all my brain cells for upcoming lectures to sit through, midterms, book reading, research, and exams."

Naruto briefly looked through the brochure before putting it down on the bedside table. He briefly looked inside the drawer "So you don't have any upcoming tests or whatever?"

"Nope. That's why I invited you here on my very rare free, no-homework weekends."

The blonde smiled that his brother would think of that so they could spend time together.

"And there's this kickass party tonight. You'd have fun there Naru, I promise."

And… well his smile didn't fall, but Naruto was a little unsure of going to a college party. He didn't want to say no but he also didn't want to say yes. So he tried to think of something to change the subject from college parties to something else. And before he could even catch himself, he was telling his brother about the supposed date he would be having next week.

That small piece of news made Kyuubi shoot up and look carefully at his brother.

Naruto going on a date… his brother had brought home guys before. He brought home maybe two or three guys that he never seriously dated and ended up breaking it off after a short period of time. And it had been a while since he talked of liking anyone…

"So what happened to the guy that wants to bang you but also wants to be your friend?"

"He doesn't want to 'bang me' as far as I know. And he _is_ the one taking me out on the date. Or whatever it is… but it's only because it kind of got spread around the school and he thought that we should make it true!"

"And you agreed?"

"Uh… yes? I mean, I'm not saying that I'm _not_ looking forward to it but it does make me a little bit nervous. People all around my school think we're a couple when all we do is just have lunch together at school! And maybe walk around the hallways! We went into town together once but that was it!"

Kyuubi stared hard at his little brother before putting his hands on his brother's shoulders. He gave them a little squeeze and ruffled his hair. He admired how soft it felt against his hand and then just pat the top of his head. "You need dating tips? You going to let him kiss you?"

His brother's faced flushed red and he pouted.

Okay, that told him one thing. And it was that Naruto did sort of have a thing for this boy if he was blushing at a question like that; normally Naruto would just say no. But he didn't trust that this guy was acting as his friend while he let him know that he was chasing after his brother. The way it translated into his mind was, "Hey, I really want to fuck you but I'm going to be your friend too and just hang around you and wait until the sex comes."

"You be careful, okay Naru? I don't know how genuine this guy is but I just want you to be careful. Remember that you can also say no when you're not comfortable."

Naruto just nodded his head and folded his hands together. "I think that…"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I think I don't need dating tips from you Kyuu. You haven't had a girlfriend in months!"

"Hey! You little brat!" Kyuubi put Naruto in a headlock and they tumbled to the floor when Naruto tried to struggle out of it. "I have you know that I'm a very great lay!"

"Ew! Don't say that!"

ヽ(･ω･)丿

Naruto could say that he was pleasantly surprised. He didn't think that he would get to sample college life unless he went on a university tour, and he would expect to see just students with their nose in the books. But to be at a real dorm party with actual college students when he was still in high school, it was all just so surreal. He was currently interacting with some of his brother's classmates and they all seemed so… down to earth. They made jokes he understood and even shared future tips on when he went to college himself.

"Having fun Naru?" Kyuubi asked when he came up behind his brother and put an arm around him. "You guys be nice to him alright?" he said as he pointed a finger at his classmates.

One of the girls in the group pushed Kyuubi away playfully and put her arms around Naruto's neck, nuzzling his hair. Naruto had a faint idea that she might have been a little drunk but he supposed as long as nothing frisky was happening then he didn't have any complaints. "Oh come on Kurama! We won't do anything to your cute little brother!"

Naruto looked up at his brother at the name he was called. "Kurama?"

Kyuubi took back his brother and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Just a nickname, don't worry too much about it."

"Hey come on man! Don't hog your little brother! He's totally cool!" One of the guys called.

Hearing that from an actual college student warmed Naruto's heart.

"And he's totally cute… You want to try a college man?"

And that just creeped out him.

If Sai's hand were the one that was on his ass, he would almost be okay with it. His friend had been grabby ever since they met and it was something that he was very used to. It wasn't something he was completely okay with but more or less used to it. If a hand had brushed across his ass by accident and he heard an apology right away, then he would be okay with it. If it was a stupid dare and the guy regretted it and apologized then he would be okay with it.

Kyuubi instantly got defensive and gently pushed Naruto out of the way to deal with the guy, who appeared to be drunk. He pushed him to some corner of the room to talk to him and left his little brother alone feeling awkward.

One of the girl put an arm around him and put a small cup in his hand. "You looked a little stressed. Here, jello makes everything better. Just take it real quick okay?"

Naruto looked down at the little desert in the small cup. He was feeling a little thirsty so he downed the jello back and it went down his throat. And he coughed at all the cheers around that he practically jumped a little. "Wait, what just happened?" he asked, looking around.

"You just took your very first jello shot!"

"What's that?"

"It's jello and vodka, you little cutie! I remember when I was just like him!"

He was handed another drink and then everyone just started chanting, pressuring him to do another shot. So Naruto downed the shot and gave a weak smile when everyone cheered. He was almost handed a third one but he didn't trust the one being handed to him by some guy he knew that kept on leering at him since the first moment he walked in.

If this was what college parties were like then he wasn't sure he wanted to go to one anymore.

"… Kyuubi?" Naruto called out. He was getting nervous now; apparently college kids liked to take prey and make them apart of the pact. Setting the shot cup aside, he made his way towards the door and pushed his way past. "Kyuubi?"

"What's up?"

Naruto turned around and jumped at the sight of his brother. "Did you get in a fight?"

Kyuubi had a bleeding lip and he right cheek was bright red from a punch. "Yeah, maybe a little. I had to tell that guy not to put a hand on you. Anyway, you had fun?"

"I think…" Naruto started. He wanted to say that he wanted to go home because he was intimidated by the party from taking one small alcoholic drink and then being pressured into another. But he decided against it, not wanting to make Kyuubi feel bad about letting him experience a college party. "I think I'm hungry. Can we go out and get something to eat?"

"Sure Naruto. Let me just uh… clean up first. There's this neato sandwich place just a block down from here."

"You still used neato?" Naruto laughed.

"Laugh it up, you little brat."

Naruto walked beside his brother, taking a glance back at the party where some of the students lingered outside of. He shuddered a little bit but turned back around to pay attention to what his brother was talking about.

* * *

"So you didn't have fun with your brother?" Sasuke asked, leading them down the street. He was busy almost the entire week after Naruto's weekend with his brother so he finally got the chance to ask when they met up together.

"Of course I had fun with Kyuubi! It was just that one night…" Naruto adjusted the hat on his head when he felt a breeze hit his face. The days were getting colder so they were slowly transitioning to wearing more sweaters and jackets. "It was nice to visit him though. Don't you ever visit your brother at his college?"

"I did it once. It was okay, we did the same thing what we do at home. The only difference was that we were in his apartment. We turn right, Uzumaki. Why are we going to a grocery store?"

When Sasuke had met up with Naruto, the first thing he asked was what they wanted to do for their sort-of date. And apparently the first place that his kouhai wanted to go to was the nearest grocery store, so currently Sasuke was leading them to one. They turned a few more corners and then they finally arrived. "You need a cart Uzumaki?"

"No, a basket should be fine." Naruto said, picking one up. "Do you have money senpai? I need you to spot me if I don't have enough."

"Tch. What, am I buying your groceries to bring home later?"

"Of course not senpai! We're buying our picnic!"

Sasuke paused for a moment and tilted his head in question. "We're going on a picnic? But we didn't even bring any food."

"That's why we're going to buy it fresh from the grocery store!" Naruto started to pull on his senpai's arm to lead him down the aisles. "Now come on, let's go search for snacks! I kind of want to get this cinnamon bread because it's really good when you toast it!"

"Toast it? Does that mean they'll toast it for you or you go home to toast it yourself?"

"Oh… you're right. Never mind then. What do you want senpai?"

Sasuke looked at the aisle they were in and saw that they were in the ramen section. There were cup noodles, bowls of ramen, five pack of ramen, and individual packets of it on the shelves. And there were a variety of flavors from beef, chicken, seafood, miso, and spicy. And there were a variety of different brands of it too, a lot of choices to pick from. "Dobe, don't tell me you're going to get this stuff."

Naruto glared up at his senpai, pouting at the name. "Teme… it's not that bad. If I don't have a pot, stove, and water then all I do is take an individual packet and open it. I put the powder in it, crush it, and then eat it raw." Naruto explained and about ready to reach for a packet. But his hand was slapped away and he pouted. "What was that for!"

"That's not healthy Uzumaki." Sasuke answered and promptly dragged them to a different aisle. "Look, let's start with drinks."

And for a good ten minutes, they argued about what drinks to get. Sasuke wanted the Thai coffee while Naruto wanted the carbonated water and they stood in front of the drink aisle disagreeing. Sasuke wanted his kouhai to try the Thai coffee but he thought it was really good. But Naruto wanted his senpai to try the carbonated water instead. In the end, Naruto gave in the compelling argument of his senpai of giving coffee a try so they put two cans in the basket.

They moved to the snack section but disagreed again on what to get again. Sasuke lost the snack battle and let Naruto buy two bags of these pea snacks he never heard of.

Outside the store with their food, they looked around to see that there were more people in the street and that the sidewalk was getting crowded. They tried to walk side by side but they were constantly bumping into people.

Naruto felt himself get yanked forward and he was ready to punch whatever stranger did that to him. But he looked up and realized that Sasuke was the one that did it and that they were holding hands now to "ensure that they don't lose each other", as his senpai worded it. He didn't know whether he believed it or not but he certainly didn't let his hand go as he navigated their way through the crowded sidewalk.

Eventually the crowd got to be too much that they actually were pushed into a random store.

"You okay Uzumaki?"

"Yeah I'm fine senpai. Where are we?"

"It looks like… some sort of electronic store." Sasuke answered as he looked around. There were TV's on display and he could hear some sound system being tested somewhere in the back of the store. "Why don't we check it out anyway while we're here?"

So they walked around the store, stopping to admire some of the items on display.

Naruto stopped when he spotted a particular movie playing on a television set. "Oh senpai! Look, this is a movie that I have been practically starving to watch! And it's playing in this store!"

Sasuke looked at the movie playing and recognized it, nodding his head. He recognized the film and he actually liked it a lot. "Yeah, it was a good movie Uzumaki. Come on, let's go see if the street has cleared up yet." And he would have walked away if he hadn't gotten his arm pulled back by Naruto. "What the hell? Come on let's-"

"Wait, I want to watch this senpai!"

"Are you kidding me? It's out on DVD, you can just go buy it later."

"Yeah, but it's playing right now at this _moment_! I gotta watch it!"

"This isn't a movie theatre you idiot. We're not going to stand here the entire time just because you think this is your only chance to watch it."

Instead, Naruto handed Sasuke the Thai coffee in a can and even pulled out the pea snacks. They stood the entire hour and thirty minutes inside the store so that Naruto could watch the movie he had been waiting to see.

And when the credits were finished, Naruto looked down at the coffee can in his hand and shook it to see if it was empty. "You were right senpai, this was good."

Sasuke nodded his head and scrunched up the snack bag. "And this thing… was pretty good."

"Thanks senpai."

"For what Uzumaki?"

"For actually standing here with me and watching the movie with me. You could have just pulled me away and we could have gone somewhere else. So thanks for sticking around."

"It wasn't any trouble Uzumaki."

It was a bold move on his part but Sasuke leaned down to peck Naruto on the lips. He didn't feel that his kouhai was ready for a full-blown kiss so he just went with a peck instead. The blush that bloomed on the blonde's faced brought on his own small smile. "Fall for me yet Uzumaki? I'm ready and willing whenever you are."

Naruto stuttered and just shook his head, but didn't bother to verbally answer the question. Instead he just silently took his senpai's hand in his own and they walked out the store together where the street was a little less crowded.

ヽ(･ω･)丿

"It went well huh?" Sai asked as he set down a plate of snacks. "Did he kiss you or anything?"

Naruto took a snack from the tray and shrugged his shoulders. "Uh, kinda? He pecked me on the lips but that's hardly a kiss."

"You're telling me. No action, he didn't grab your ass or anything?"

"No Sai!"

Sai looked the side to mutter to himself, "You two are going too slow. Maybe I need to lock you two in a room or something."

"What was that Sai?"

Sai turned back to look at Naruto and answered, "I said I want you and Sasuke-kun to get a room together and I'm going to be the one to lock you in it."

Naruto frowned and just turned away to turn on the television in Sai's room. Whatever Sai was thinking, he and Sasuke were taking everything slowly. He wasn't so sure about the friend thing anymore but he felt like that little peck had changed everything. His phone vibrated and he looked down to see that he had a message from Kyuubi, who had asked him how it went and he remembered his words about being careful.

Even with Kyuubi's warning, that little peck had Naruto imagining and his mind wandering to images of him and his senpai together. He would probably reconsider his senpai in a different light.

* * *

**A/N:** Alright, I think I'm finally going to start turning up the romance between the two of them from this point on. I know it's taken a while but from this point on, _now_ I think it's time for Naruto to start falling for Sasuke. Thanks for being patient and sticking with me!

I updated early because I wouldn't be able to update this Friday, which is Halloween! I hope you all have a fun time!


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't think I have to tell anyone at this point, we all know Kishimoto owns

* * *

"Are you two happy? Final exams are finished and then it will be another new year. The holidays have arrived and you two can slack off."

"You're going to be a third year senpai."

"And the two of you are going to be second years."

"Oh Sasuke-kun, whatever shall we do when you leave us behind when you graduate?"

Sasuke shrugged but set his eyes on Naruto. "I'll tell you one thing; I won't be leaving this place without Uzumaki by my side."

Sai pulled his scarf tighter around his neck in attempt to keep warm. "Oh Sasuke-kun, you're going to hold yourself back one year just to be with Naruto? How devoted you are."

"Tch. I mean what I say, Naruto and I will definitely be leaving this town together."

Naruto's face flushed but he didn't bother to hide the smile that came onto his face. It was weird; when he first met Sasuke he thought it would just be a short interaction between the two of them. He thought that Sasuke would just be another boy in his world and he would move on. But now it was the end of the year and they were well… almost considered a couple around the school.

Almost.

At least that's how their entire school saw it.

Officially how it was between them was that… well Sasuke and Naruto were close now. As close as Naruto's relationship to Sai was, with less groping. Naruto knew Sasuke still had it for him but some part of him felt excited at the idea of being with his senpai. But there was still that part of him that was hesitant being with his senpai also. After all, he never knew what the future could have in store for them and maybe in about ten years they'd be married to different people and living on opposite sides of the world.

Anything was possible.

To be honest, Naruto wasn't sure where he could align himself when it came to his feelings about Sasuke. All he knew was that his senpai had grown more on him than he had ever imagined. He didn't exactly push him out when Sasuke came into his world but he also didn't really invite him in. Sasuke had simply appeared and stayed, and slowly became closer to him.

Naruto cleared his throat and pushed his hands into his pockets. "Well uh… do you want to walk me home senpai?" Naruto asked, his eyes glancing to Sai. Then he amended his question, "I mean, walk _us_ home senpai! Walk me and Sai home, with you there! Would you like to walk us home senpai?"

Sasuke chuckled and pat the top of Naruto's head. "I'd like to Uzumaki, but I have to be home right away today. My brother is coming to visit and my mother wants me to help welcome him... even though we saw him just two weeks ago."

"Oh…" Naruto looked down at the ground and then dug his foot into the snow. He felt embarrassed for asking now since his senpai was going to be busy with something else. But he understood; it was just a family thing. Kyuubi would be coming home soon for the holidays too.

"But," Sasuke lifted Naruto's head up by pushing his chin up with his hand. "I'd like to see you over break Uzumaki. Whenever you're available that is."

Naruto nodded his head and gave Sasuke his brightest smile. He and Sai both waved to their senpai as he walked towards the exit of the school. They saw a car pull up and Sasuke gave them on last wave before getting inside the vehicle and shutting the door. The car pulled away from the school and Naruto and Sai were left to walk together again.

"Shin wants you to come over for dinner tonight. Do you want to come join us?" Sai offered as they waited for a crosswalk to signal it was okay to walk across the street. "Or do you need to go home right away to get everything prepped and ready for Kyuubi to come home? Like you need to make sure his bedroom his clean, his bed is still comfy, he has a hot meal to come home to-"

"Stop making me sound like some little housewife! Or a complete minion to my brother!" Naruto pouted, crossing the street when the signal saw that it was okay.

Sai pushed his hands into his coat pockets, his fingers becoming a little numb from the cold. He had misplaced his gloves somewhere in his room over the weekend and didn't have the time to scavenge for them lately. "So are you saying that you are _not_ going to do that when you arrive home?"

"Of course not!" Naruto stated. Then he muttered, "That will be next weekend…"

But Naruto confirmed anyway that he would arrive later at Sai's house for dinner and ask that he stay the night.

After a hot pot made by Naruto that he brought over and some desserts, both boys retreated upstairs to Sai's bedroom. But not before thanking Shin for letting him stay the night. Naruto carefully navigated his way through Sai's room, making sure not to knock over any portfolios or any of the art supplies spread across the floor. He successfully managed to make his way towards the bed and then looked all around his friend's room. "You need, like, a separate room for all this stuff Sai. If you trip on the floor, everything is going to fall on you and you'll die from suffocation from your art smothering you."

"Hm. Doesn't sound so bad to be buried under my art." Sai commented as he moved to clear a space for the futon for Naruto. He put his paint jars away in his drawers, gathered up his portfolios, notebooks, and just a few canvases and pushed them into his closet. He cracked open the window bit just to air out the room a little bit from the smell of some of his supplies. "So, how's your relationship with Sasuke-kun? You realize the entire school is shipping you together right? You used to be just some guy in the school but now you're Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who is with Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto gave Sai a weird look from the word 'shipping' but didn't dwell on it. "We're just friends-"

Sai grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at Naruto's head.

"What the hell was that for?" Naruto shouted before slapping his hands over his mouth. "What was that for!" he hissed.

"Friends my ass. The dynamic of your relationship is bordering right onto a relationship of the romantic kind." He took a spot on the bed as well and crossed his legs. "I see the way you look at him."

"I don't look at him like anyway!"

"You look at him like you look at Kyuubi."

"As in I look at senpai like I look up to him?" Naruto tilted his head to the side. He kind of looked up to Sasuke in that way. He was smart, successful, athletic, and… good looking.

Sai slapped his friend on the back of his head. "Like you're in love with him."

Naruto's face flushed red again and he kicked at Sai. "I'm not in love with Sasuke! And I just happen to love my brother very much! And I swear if you say I have a brother's complex again I will-!"

But he was surprised to find Sai staring at him speechless. His eyes stared wide at the blonde and he leaned against his wall. "You… just used Sasuke-kun's name instead of calling him senpai…" he uttered in slight surprise. Then a smile came onto his face and poked his friend's cheek. "You are so sweet Naruto. He's growing on you if you're starting to use his first name."

Needless to say, Naruto had pushed his face into a pillow to hide his every growing embarrassment.

"Maybe it's time that you actually start addressing Sasuke-kun by his name instead of just senpai or Uchiha-senpai." Sai suggested as he tried to pry the pillow away from Naruto's face. "I bet you at some point the next time he sees you, he'll probably ask that you call him Sasuke and he'll ask if he can call you Naruto. And then you'll become all embarrassed and then probably ask if he thinks it's a good idea. Then Sasuke-kun will probably say that he'll only do it if you're comfortable."

"What are you? Some sort of love fortune-teller or something?" Naruto muttered, letting Sai pull the pillow away. "And I don't know if _senpai_ and I are close enough to address each other by our first names."

Sai shrugged but inside, he had a feeling that he was right about his prediction. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe Sasuke-kun would prefer that you call him senpai. I bet it gives him a bit of a kick to hear you address him like that."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, it's kinky."

"You pervert!" Naruto shouted as he pushed Sai off the bed. Then he grabbed the nearby pillow and repeatedly began to smack Sai with it, knowing that it was only fueling Sai's entertainment and the small notion that he was probably right about Sasuke wanting to drop formally addressing each other.

He just didn't know when.

"And you know, I just realized something." Sai added in, effectively stopping his friend's pillow slaughter.

"What?" Naruto hissed. "Is this another sex thing?"

"Sasuke-kun said that no matter what, you two would be leaving together."

"So?"

"Well what do you think that says about him Naruto?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he buried his face into the pillow again to cover his face yet again.

"He must see his future with you in it if he's saying stuff like that." Sai said, not really needing to voice it out but doing it anyway. "It's practically a proposal."

"Shut up!"

ヽ(･ω･)丿

"Itachi?" Sasuke called for his brother, waiting for a response. It was silent so he called for his brother again. "Itachi!"

More silence.

So Sasuke called again, "Itachi!"

"Call me properly otouto." Itachi finally answered.

Sasuke sighed but really didn't feel like playing games with his older brother. "Nii-san, mother wants us to decorate the tree. Father already set it up for us and he pulled out the ornaments too."

Itachi finally came out and into view, pulling his long hair back into a ponytail. "Very well, let's get started."

The two brothers decorated their Christmas tree together, just like they had always done when they were children. Itachi worked from the top while Sasuke started from the bottom. They traded small, meaningless conversation while decorating until it fell into a silence. Sasuke would hand his brother ornaments when he would ask for one and he would occasionally dust off some glitter that came off from certain ornaments. He watched his older brother put the star up on the three and nodded the good work they had done.

Mikoto had come out from the kitchen with a tray, serving her sons coffee (in the past it was hot chocolate) and thanked both of her sons for decorating the Christmas tree.

Sasuke and Itachi sat themselves on the couch and watched some movie playing on the television, drinking their coffee.

"Hey Nii-san," Sasuke said after half an hour into watching the movie, "when do you think it's appropriate to call someone by their first name?"

Itachi glanced over to his brother, feeling a slight bit happy from his brother calling him nii-san. But what was important was answering the question his brother had said to him. He took a sip of his coffee and inhaled the aroma for a bit before answering. "It depends, how long have you known each other? How close are you? And to whom is this directed to?"

"It's… towards a classmate. He and I have been getting along quite well for some time and I'm just wondering if we've reached a point where we can address each other by our first names."

The older of the two looked carefully at his brother, focusing on all parts of his face and trying to see anything on his expression to give him away. Steadily, he came closer and closer until his face was at least an inch away. His brother kept his face turned away from him, looking straight at the television and making sure to not make eye contact.

"… This classmate of yours," Itachi started slowly, "how did you meet him?"

"He was uh… cheering on our swim team at one of our races." Sasuke answered.

"How old is he?"

"He's a first year."

"So I am correct to assume that he addresses you as senpai?"

Sasuke nodded his head.

"And you wish to drop the formalities and have the permission to use his name."

Another nod.

Itachi squinted his eyes at Sasuke, searching his expression further for the purpose of their conversation. He got his answer when his brother shifted slightly and turned his face slightly further away from his. "You like this boy!" he concluded. "And you feel close enough to him that you want to be able to drop a little bit of the formalities between you two. Are you expecting to confess to him in the spring when the cherry blossoms bloom? The wind will blow and your kohai… what's his name?"

Sasuke sneered and stood up from the couch. "Damn it Itachi! I just wanted you to answer my question! Not probe into my business!" he growled. Then he took away his brother's cup and stomped out of the room. "Fuck you, you don't get coffee and forget what I asked!"

For the rest of the day, Sasuke remained pissed off at his brother.

But only because he didn't like being so transparent to his brother like that.

So as Sasuke was lying on his bed, watching one of his DVDs on his television, he heard a knock on the door and didn't need to ask who it was to let him in. He said nothing as Itachi joined him on the bed and just casually watched what was playing on the television. The two of them saying nothing and just simply being by each other's side. At some point it had gotten a little dark and a lamp was lit.

Then as the credits rolled, Itachi turned to his brother and said, "Ask him if he's okay with it first. Don't just surprise him all of a sudden by calling him by his name." He paused for a moment and then asked a question. "This boy, what kind of feelings do you have for him?"

"I don't know." Sasuke shrugged. " I just look at him and I know that I can see us being together. He doesn't – well he didn't at first but I think he's warmed up to me in the time we've known each other. His friend did inform me though, that he's probably more in love with his older brother than he is with me."

"Hm. A brother's complex huh?"

"I guess. But I'll be sure to come first in his heart eventually." Sasuke said smugly, folding his hands behind is head. "He'll be mine. But I'll start things off by just asking to go by his name the next time I see him."

Itachi took in his brother's words, contemplating them for a bit before moving on from the conversation. He saw the television be switched to a different input and the television screen was now playing cable. "I wish you still had your brother complex Sasuke. Remember when you used to follow me around and beg me to take you wherever I went? I want that back."

"Get out of here nii-san."

* * *

"Oh look at the little kitties Minato!" Kushina squealed as they passed by a pet store. "Look at the gray one! And the one that's black and its legs are white, like its wearing socks! Oh look, there's one coming to say hi to me!" Kushina smiled at the kitten that had run towards the glass and started meowing at her. "Look at the little babies!"

Minato gently pulled his wife away from the window and told her that they still had some shopping to do for their holidays. He checked to see that his sons were following right behind him and gestured for them to stay close. The town square was packed with people shopping, tourists taking in the sights, and people just out for a good time while on holiday break. They still needed to buy some gifts to mail by air to his mother and his in-laws.

"Boys, make sure to stay close!" Minato called over his shoulder. "If we get separated, then meet at the thrift store on the third boulevard!"

"Yes dad!" Both boys answered simultaneously.

The family tried to stay as tightly knit as possible. But once they reached the shopping centre, they agreed to split up into pairs in order to have more success in finding gifts for their family. Of course the parents paired up together while the brothers remained by each other. They agreed to meet in an hour by the food court and to wait nearby the Mongolian restaurant.

"Hey Kyuubi, what do you think we should send to Jiraiya?" Naruto asked as he browsed through the bookstore. Right now he was in the cookbook aisle, searching through the titles even though it would be virtually useless to do so. Not unless there was an incredibly sexy cookbook catered to the male gaze, specifically to Naruto's godfather. "Kyuubi, did you find anything?"

"Nope, nothing. I'm in the self-help section." Kyuubi could be heard excusing himself, most likely trying to maneuver himself from bumping into anyone. "But if you ask me, Jiraiya could use some of that."

Naruto laughed but moved down further into the store. He actually reached the erotic book section but didn't want to look like a dumb kid walking through it so he held head up high and kept his eyes forward. That is before he caught sight of one of his godfather's works on the shelf. "Hey I found one of his books…"

He had to double check to see that an entire shelf was taken up by Jiraiya's series. "Wait, I found his entire series here… Ew."

"Get out of there Naru, you're still a kid and people are gonna think you're a little pervert looking at those things." Kyuubi instructed. "Do you think Jiraiya would like sci-fi?"

"Uzumaki?"

Naruto turned his head to see that Uchiha Sasuke was standing behind him carrying a plastic bag in one hand.

"Naruto? Naru, you okay?"

"I'll call you back really quick Kyuu." Naruto said quickly before hanging up his phone. He straightened himself a little and then approached his senpai. "Uchiha-senpai, what are you doing here?"

"Holiday shopping. I'm here to find something for my father." Sasuke answered. He glanced towards the book section they were standing in and chuckled. "Really dobe? Again with browsing through the adult section?"

Naruto pouted and promptly pulled them to a different aisle. "Okay here! We're at the…" he looked up at the section they were in. "Oh, manga." Naruto was tempted to browse through but realized that it would be rude to disregard his senpai if he did so. So he decided to keep focus and talk with Sasuke for a little bit; only just a little because he still had another half hour before having to meet up with his parents. "Senpai, how has your winter break been treating you?"

"It's been fine, thanks for asking Uzumaki." Sasuke looked around to see if Sai was around and asked if he had accompanied the blonde today. He almost felt a sense of relief when he heard that Sai wouldn't come in to cockblock any time soon. He thought about taking him away for a little bit down to one of the cafes nearby and ask him about being able to call each other by their first names. But when he was informed that Naruto was with his family and that he was short on time, he wasn't so sure any more about asking.

Hell, Sasuke even started to get a little bit irrational in his mind and think that it was almost a sign. A sign that maybe they weren't even meant to call each other by their first names and then their relationship would fade into nonexistence by the time the new school year came around.

But he took a hold of himself and took one deep breath. "Uzumaki, I know that now isn't exactly the time to ask you this. But I was thinking that we've known each other long enough and we know enough about one another. So I wanted to ask permission if could call you by your first name." Sasuke said evenly, not once tripping over his words. Then he took a slight pause before adding in, "And you could call me Sasuke."

Naruto was thrown off by the sudden proposal but it only took a few seconds to sink in. He coughed into his hand and then started to play with the charm on his phone. "You want to senpai? Do you think it's a good idea?"

Sasuke winced a little bit at the hesitance coming from his kohai even though he had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of rejection. But he pushed forward regardless. "Are you uncomfortable Uzumaki? I understand if this is too quick of a step for you."

Without even thinking about his response Naruto had agreed to it. "Okay, let's do it."

Then his mind paused, realizing what he had just done and how very true (and accurate) Sai's prediction was to him.

"_I bet you at some point the next time he sees you, he'll probably ask that you call him Sasuke and he'll ask if he can call you Naruto. And then you'll become all embarrassed and then probably ask if he thinks it's a good idea. Then Sasuke-kun will probably say that he'll only do it if you're comfortable."_

"Okay. I'll leave you to go meet up with your family. So I'll text you some time… Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "I'll see you around senpa… Sasuke."

Whoa, saying his senpai's name to his face was weird and slightly thrilling.

They waved goodbye to each other and Sasuke turned away for a brief second. Then he went back to give a little peck on Naruto's lips before leaving for real.

"We… we're calling each other by our first names now." He said to himself. Naruto leaned against the bookshelf for a little bit, slightly dumbfounded by what had just happened. His blue eyes drifted to the manga books and reached for a random one on the shelf and flipped through it to try and distract himself. "Mahou Shoujo of the End?"

He flipped through the first chapter of the manga and then promptly put it back where he had pulled it from. "Holy shit no!" he hissed to himself. That face would haunt him for the rest of the day. He quickly whipped his head back behind him and then back to the book, almost afraid that the little girl from the girl would show up behind him.

"Naruto! You were supposed to be walking around for a present for Jiraiya!"

The blonde whipped around to find his brother standing behind him, a plastic bag in his hand with the label of the bookstore. He supposed that his brother finally found something for the pervy old man.

Kyuubi put an arm around his little brother and walked them out the store. "Hey, how come you hung up on me?" he asked once they exited the store.

"Oh sorry about that Kyuu. I just ran into a… friend at school and I wanted to talk to him for a little bit."

"Well shit, you should have told me that instead of hanging up on me." He ruffled blonde hair and then kissed the top of his head. "No worries, I'll just say that we found the old man's gift together."

"Thanks Kyuubi."

They spotted their parents waiting for them by the Mongolian restaurant like they had said, carrying two bags of their own. And as they walked toward them, Naruto turned his head back briefly to actually see Sasuke standing in front of one of the retail stores. His eyes widened when he saw someone who looked quite similar to Sasuke come out of the store and approach him.

He quickly recognized the other man as Sasuke's brother and then turned to look at his parents. Maybe the next time they talked, they could discuss about families.

* * *

**A/N:** So just a little announcement for any readers who read _That Poor Sucker_, I'm actually going to be rewriting some chapters. Not the entire thing, just certain chapters because since I'm writing PG (which is a prequel) then I thought that I should rewrite certain chapters of PS just to ensure that there are no continuity errors. Plus I want to rewrite certain chapters that didn't really add anything to the story or were just essentially… kinda boring to me. So whenever I finish rewriting a chapter for PS, I will announce it in the A/N whenever I update PG. (Rewritten chapters may not be written in chronological order. As in it will not be like this: chapter 2, 4, 5, 11, etc. rewritten)


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